Taking care of you
by Tsuyu ryu
Summary: When Edward gets injured by a mysterious hunter, it’s Bella’s turn to take care of him. But when she decides he stays at her house, things get complicated… will Charlie discover Edward’s secret? And who’s after Edward?
1. Chapter 1

When Edward gets injured by a mysterious hunter, it's Bella's turn to take care of him. But when she decides he stays at her house, things get complicated… will Charlie discover Edward's secret? And who's after Edward?

_**EPOV**_

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me… which, considering my vampire nature, should be enough to escape. Due to my injuries, however, the task was proving to be too much for me. I was careless, how could I have allowed such a threat to approach me without noticing it? I could still remember clearly the events of earlier that day, while my body focused on running away from the hunter.

I was alone. My family had decided to go to Denali for vacations, and I've decided to stay. Carlisle and the others had not been surprised; after all, they knew I'd like to spent vacations with Bella now that there was no risk of Victoria tracking her. This morning, I've gone out to hunt in the forest… and that was when all went wrong. The urge of blood shouldn't have blinded me that much, but when I stood up, he was there: a man with a long black coat, looking at me. I panicked; he had seen me, what should I do now? Kill him? But before I could react, his body shifted and changed before my eyes, changing into a black wolf that growled at me, ready to attack. _'A Quileute wolf?'_ I knew it wasn't Jacob, but that thought, the idea that it could be one of Bella's friends, stopped me from moving or attacking. The creature took advantage of my hesitation and, in a swift movement, charged towards me. I jumped out of his way, but he managed to bite my left leg. I turned and grabbed his shoulders; the wolf howled in agony when my hands broke the bones beneath them, and I used the distraction to kick him, sending him away from me. I charged towards him, my teeth bare, ready to break his neck… but then, I remembered Bella's face when she thought Jacob had died; again the idea of hurting one of Bella's beloved friends stopped me, I couldn't make her suffer like that. Instead of following my instincts and kill him, I turned and ran deep into the forest. The wolf followed me immediately. I didn't remember how much time passed, or how many times we encountered each other again; he managed to bite mi side in one of them, while I'm sure I broke some of his ribs in another.

Now, finally, it seemed he was getting tired, or at least injured enough to stop looking for me. I kept running with no particular direction, hoping to confuse him –something difficult, considering I was bleeding, the blood I'd recently consumed escaping for my open wounds- I laughed mentally at the irony of it: the hunter being hunted, the predator becoming the prey… all I hoped was to escape, to see my Bella again.

_**BPOV**_

It was a rainy day in Forks. While I looked from the window of my bedroom, I remembered how it depressed me the first time I came here. Now, the rain and gray clouds meant something totally different to me, because they meant Edward could go out, that he could be with me the entire day without worry. Since his family was currently away, and Charlie was working, we had a lot of time to ourselves. I imagined him here, sitting in his usual place in my bedroom, looking at me with those beautiful eyes and that crooked smile I loved so much. Even now, after all that had happened, I wondered what had I done to deserve such good luck.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a pained howl inside the forest. Immediately, an image of Jacob came to my mind… no, it wasn't him, I was sure of that; I knew him well enough to identify his 'voice'. The relief I felt with that thought vanished almost immediately replaced by fear and worry, if it wasn't Jake, then who was it? My fear increased, turning into panic, when I remembered Edward should be hunting at that moment. Could it be that…? No, I couldn't think of that, the mere idea of Edward fighting against one of my friends tore my heart. Curious, I went outside. I saw a figure emerge from the forest, a human figure that remained there, standing in the shadows. I wondered who it was, wondered if I'll see Paul, or Embry, or Sam, walk towards me, injured… but not in my weirdest dreams I imagined to see what I saw, and the image was even worse that all my previous thoughts.

Edward moved towards me, his coppery hair wet, his eyes fixed on me. But instead of happiness, there was fear in his eyes; he continued moving, and I noticed his pained expression with each step he took, the way he limped towards me... I've never seen him like that. But what stopped my breath, the thing that sent tears to my eyes, was the scarlet liquid staining his clothes…

_**I'm evil, I know!! But don't worry, I would never kill Edward (just hurt him a little :p) Please don't be too harsh with me, it's my first fanfic ever, I am not a native speaker of English (which I think it's obvious :P),and most important, it's the first time someone ever tries the idea of injuring Edward (I guess… that's why I chose it). Please leave reviews! **_


	2. Complications

"Complications"

**EPOV**

I didn't realize where I was running until I saw Bella's terrified face emerge from her house. How curious that, even unconsciously, my movements took me to her. Despite my happiness at the sight of her, I felt a wave of panic rise above the pain. She didn't like the sight of blood, and had never seen me in this condition –defeated, wounded… weak- what would be her reaction? I didn't want to scare her, but the urge to approach her, to touch her, was too great… so, despite my fears of scaring her, I continued walking.

**BPOV**

I just stood there, watching Edward as he stood in front of me. He looked terrible, and seemed to be in a lot of pain, the blood in his clothes almost made me faint… but no, I could not loose myself now, not when –for the first time ever- he was the one needing my care.

"Bella" he murmured softly, and moved even closer. Suddenly, he winced and lost his footing. That awoke me from my shocked state, and I managed –surprisingly- to catch his arm and keep him up. Now free of the impact, my panic emerged.

"Edward! What happened? Are you alright?" silly question, of course he wasn't, but I couldn't think clearly.

"Bella… I'm sorry… I know you should be…" he continued murmuring, his normally velvet voice hoarse with pain. I didn't understand why he was apologizing for, but this was not the time for questions. I needed to get him inside.

"Edward, stop it. Come, let me help you" I said, and put his arm around my shoulders to help him inside. I was surprised; now I didn't feel even dizzy at the sight of blood… the worry and fear for him too strong to let any other feeling come to my mind.

Once we reached my room –I will NOT let him stay at the couch- Edward sat on my bed, suppressing a moan of pain. I panicked… how was I supposed to help an injured vampire?

"Edward… what can I do?" I asked him, since I was too worried to think of a better idea. He breathed deeply, as if gathering strength to speak.

"Do you have… some bandages?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess Charlie has a first aid kit somewhere, but… are you going to be alright?" I asked, and didn't realize I was crying until he raised his marble hand to caress my face.

"Don't worry, Bella… don't cry, I'll be fine. Just bring me some bandages, alright?" he said, trying to calm me.

I looked him straight in the eyes, searching for a clue… he seemed sincere, though strangely tired, in pain and… scared? Without thinking, I approached and kissed him. He answered immediately, until a wave of pain forced him to stop, and forced _me _to remember he needed to be treated. I ran around the house, trying to find Charlie's aid kit; I stumbled a couple of times, but finally managed to find it in his bedroom. I hurried to Edward's side… he was now lying on my bed, grabbing his side with one of his hands. Again, I ignored the red stains on his clothes and over my bed and rushed to his side.

"Ok, I have them here… now what? I wish Carlisle was here… I don't know how to…" I said, sobbing again.

"Clam down, Bella. I'll do it" Edward said. When I looked at him in disbelief, he smiled softly, "two degrees in medicine at Harvard, remember?" he said, and smiled my favorite crooked smile.

"Can I help you?" I immediately asked.

"I thought you didn't like blood?" he said.

"Right now I don't care, as long as you're better" I said, resolved.

Minutes later, I was regretting that. Despite my best wishes, it was hard for me to watch Edward cover his wounds, and it was harder whenever he grimaced in pain. I tried to help him, but he must have noticed my distress for he simply asked me to calm down. When he finished –I was surprised he had done it all by himself- he laid again on my bed with a sigh. I grabbed a chair and sat next to him, grabbing his cold hand in mine. He suddenly closed his eyes and sighed again… and I panicked.

"Are you alright? Does it hurt? What can I do?" I asked frantically… how could I help him with the pain? I doubted I could use any medicine for this.

"Bella… I'm fine, just a little sore" he said –a lie, I could tell, considering the way he 'breathed'- "We have another problem" he said, looking at me with curiosity.

"What happen?"

"Charlie's here" he said.

As if things weren't complicated enough. I wanted Edward to stay here so I could take care of him, but there was something I hadn't considered… my dad.

--

_**Thanks to my readers for keeping up with my crazy idea!! :P Seriously, thank you all for your kind reviews… oh, a question: I thought my story will be mostly from Bella's point of view but, considering Edward's reaction to the experience must be quite interesting, I'm considering writing more of his vision (if you like mi interpretation of his thoughts, that is :P) what do you think? Well, enough chatting, **__**now to write next chappie!!**_


	3. Battle

"Battle"

**BPOV**

I went downstairs to meet my dad. Charlie was still standing near the door, and eyed me with curiosity… maybe he had heard me talking upstairs.

"Hi, dad. How was your day?" I greeted him, trying to sound calm. After all, Charlie would be very angry in a matter of seconds, after what I wanted to say.

"Just fine, thanks" he said, but looked at me intently. "Is something wrong, Bells? You look… worried" he finished. _Crap!_ I forgot I'm a very bad liar. I took a deep breath; this was going to be difficult.

"Well, dad, it's nothing really... it's just that, um, Edward…" I said, but regretted it immediately. Charlie's face changed to what only be interpreted as anger, a reaction I should have expected –considering my dad had not been very fond of my boyfriend after the Volterra incident- but it still made me swallow… yeah, this was going to be difficult.

"So? What's with him?" he asked in an angry tone.

"Well, he's sick and… since his family is away, I think he shouldn't be alone, so… I was wondering if he could stay…" I asked, praying he wouldn't guess I was lying. Charlie's eyes gave me an answer: no way.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Maybe it's just flu or something. If he's really sick, he should be in the hospital; I'm sure his father's friends could…"

"No!" I almost screamed at him, my temper raising. Why does he have to be so rude to Edward? "I don't see why he can't stay here… I WANT him to stay here, to take care of him"

"Look, Bells, I've been quite tolerant with Edward, but this is too much. It's enough already that I tolerate his visits after all he'd done to you, but I'll not allow him to stay in my house. Period" he said, angry.

But I was very angry too at this point. "Would it be different if it was Jacob who needed to stay?" I asked coldly. I knew it would be different, and wanted him to say it.

He was clearly unsure; I had struck the exact point of the problem. "That's different… Jacob's almost family, but Edward…"

"Edward IS family too, I love him… but if you refuse, maybe I should go to his house and stay with him until he recovers!" I screamed at him.

"NO way, Miss!" he wanted to say more, but suddenly stood still, watching the stairs behind me.

"Good afternoon, Charlie" a velvet voice said behind me. I turned and saw Edward standing at the last step of the stairs, covered with a long towel –an attempt to cover the blood on his clothes, I guessed-. He looked at my dad with a smile.

**EPOV**

It was as bad as I thought. The moment I've heard them arguing, I decided it was time to interfere; I didn't want Bella fighting with her father for me.

Charlie eyed me suspiciously, trying to find any sign of my 'sickness' Luckily, my pale skin and tired look helped a lot.

"Sorry to bother you, but I came to see Bella and the rain caught me outside" '_which explains why I'm wearing a towel over me'_ I thought to myself. "It's nothing serious, really, but Bella insisted I should stay. If you disagree, though, I could go home. Don't worry" I said, then faked a cough. Knowing Charlie's thoughts –and his normally good heart- I knew he wouldn't let me go like that.

Even now, his thoughts had changed radically. _'Geesh, the boy really looks sick. Maybe I should… but where could he stay? The couch? I guess Bella wouldn't like that… but I can't let him go out right now, it's raining… maybe…'_

Meanwhile, Bella eyed me with disapproval. I didn't know if it was because she knew what I was doing, or because I was up when she had clearly ordered me to stay in bed. I winked at her, trying to assure her I was alright… which was not entirely true, considering how my injuries hurt. I coughed again to distract her and to make Charlie decide.

"Well… I guess I can't let you go right now, but we have a problem here. Where would you sleep? On the couch?" he said, still in an angry tone. _'Let's see how he handles that… hope he realizes he could go with some relatives, or MALE friends perhaps?'_ I smiled softly; apparently Charlie had not given up yet… but Bella was as stubborn as he was.

"Dad! He can't sleep there, he's _sick_! He can sleep in my bed" Bella said with confidence, showing she had no intentions to change her mind.

"And where would you sleep?" he asked. Obviously not the couch.

"Well… I guess I have to sleep in my bedroom too…" she started, unsure. I whish she hadn't said that, she lost all the ground we had gained over Charlie.

Charlie's mind changed. I couldn't help but laugh at the mental image that was terrifying him: me and Bella, alone in the room; me trying to take advantage of his pure, innocent child… I faked a coughing fit in an attempt to hide my laugh. _'Is she CRAZY? Does she really think I'm going to let them sleep in the SAME room? NO. WAY.'_

"Not a chance, Miss!" he screamed at her, unable to hide the panic.

"But someone has to check on him! What if he has a fever? What if he needs something?" Bella said. I had to fake a cough again… the idea of a vampire with a fever was so much fun to resist. "Well… maybe if you could take care of him…" Bella continued.

I laughed again –at this rate, Charlie would think I have pneumonia-. Charlie's thoughts were confuse, he was trying to decide which option was worse. _'ME? Take care of HIM? I doubt it… I'm not too good at that, and she knows it. But the idea of those two in one bedroom… what should I do? Damn, she really caught me there.'_ Before he could say something, Bella continued in a softer tone.

"Look, dad. I know you have all this over protective attitude towards me, and I appreciate it, but remember what we talked about trust? When you said you'll try to be open minded? You can trust me, I just want to be near him in case he needs me, we're not going to do anything… I'll sleep in the sleeping bag. Please?" she said. Well, if she had lost some ground with her previous comment, she certainly had gained more than that with this one. And she thinks she can't win an argument… Charlie's thoughts were still troubled, but I could see a victory there. He obviously wanted to trust her _'why shouldn't he? She's honest and mature enough' _I thought.

Charlie sighed, defeated. "Alright, kid. You win. But I'll be checking on you two… I trust you, Bells, but I don't trust _him_" he said, eyeing me warily. Then he moved towards the couch and sat with a loud sigh of discomfort. The discussion was over.

**BPOV**

I couldn't believe I had actually won my little argument. I had thought Charlie would go berserk and all but kick Edward out. I sighed and looked at him, smiling.

"Thanks for the help" I said once we were in my room again.

"Well, my ability is very useful for that" he said, laughing. "But he's really going to check on us, so you better sleep on the bag" I grimaced at that; I wanted to sleep in his arms.

"I guess so. Well, at least he let you stay" I said. He suddenly became serious.

"It was not really necessary. I don't like you to fight with your dad for me. Sorry" he said. Let's see: he was injured –a totally new experience for him, I could say-, chased by some strange werewolf, and he was worrying about _me_?

"Stop it, Edward. I want you to stay here, and my dad has to get used to the idea of us together" I said, blushing. He laughed again.

"So, now tell me what happened" I asked. He looked at me, obviously he didn't want to tell me, but I had to know… what if it was one of my friends? The thought made me shudder.

"Alright…" he said, and started to speak.

In the woods, a lone black wolf laid below a tree. The hunter was furious; how could the vampire had escaped? He growled in pain and fury, outraged by his failure and the fact the vampire had actually managed to hurt him. He'll make the leech pay for it, as soon as he was totally healed… he had to. He still remembered the scene before him, many years ago:

A man laying on the floor, limp, dead… a figure standing over him, a figure with coppery hair and fiery red eyes… the vampire and the prey, the monster and his friend. Yes, he'll make sure to take revenge for that.

Suddenly, he thought he saw a figure moving not too far from him. He ignored it, considering it was just an animal, and went to sleep.

--

_**HA! I guess you didn't expect that! :P yep, the hunter wants revenge… but I'm not telling you all yet (I'm cruel :P) The discussion with Charlie was unexpectedly fun to write –mostly thanks to Edward reading his mind-. Maybe I pictured him too… bad? I dunno, just think he's a good man, but he doesn't like Edward and, face it, any parent would oppose at the idea of a daughter sharing a room with her smexy boyfriend :P**__** Hope you liked the chapter –too looooong!- and let me know if you have interesting ideas about the possible troubles about all the issue (I need more inspiration :P)**_

_**By the way, some of you had stated that vampires do not bleed… yes, it's true, but Stephenie once said they would bleed if they had recently feed (which is Edward's case)… just to share the thought nn.**_


	4. Food issues

"Food issues"

**EPOV**

Pain was something I definitively hadn't missed in my 'life'.

Now that Bella was downstairs having breakfast with Charlie, I could allow myself to feel it. I didn't want Bella to see me in pain, she would get worried. I was worried and scared too, but she'll never know that. My side and leg hurt terribly, and it took a lot of effort not to show her how I really felt. None of us had really been injured once (expect for Jasper, but his memories didn't offer much comfort) I wish Carlisle was here… by the way, why they weren't here? Surely, Alice should have seen me injured, so why they hadn't returned? Maybe she hadn't seen anything, considering the attacker –my attacker… so weird- was a werewolf, but did that meant there was still a connection between the two of us? That our futures were still mingled together, so she couldn't see?

The thought of it brought back my initial worry about the wolf. Bella's comments about it last night made me realize he couldn't be a member of the Quileute pack (they were strictly bound to the treaty) So, who was him? Why had he come to Forks? He seemed quite experienced and more thoughtful than Jacob and his companions, so he must have lived a lot… I wondered if Sam's pack would find him, and if they did what would they do? Receive him as one of their own? Ignore him? _Help_ him? I stopped my thoughts, already frustrated by them; it was annoying not to know.

Maybe I could go hunting? After all, I needed it to get better, but another part of my brain –the part that felt the pain, I guess- was against it… besides, what if the wolf tracked me? Maybe he would find out were I had been, maybe he'll decide to attack Bella… no, I'd wait until I know more before going out again. Suddenly, my musings were interrupted by Charlie's unusually loud thoughts. He was thinking about being nicer to me, for Bella's sake… interesting, I didn't think he would decide to fight his anger towards me someday –after all, I deserved it, in more ways than he could imagine-; he was worried I wasn't hungry… wait, I didn't like the course his thoughts were taking. Oh, God. This was going to be disgusting. _Really_ disgusting.

**BPOV**

I eyed my dad with a mixture of anger and fun. Edward had been right; he had checked on us at least 5 times during the night, and was obviously relieved to see me sleeping on the bag near my bed, where Edward pretended to sleep. If he knew that after each visit I moved to my bed and to Edward's embrace… The memory of him lying next to me, of his hands touching me while I laid there, his soft voice when he hummed my lullaby… I have to stop thinking about that, or I'd probably end up doing exactly what Charlie feared. He would go berserk

"He's not coming down?" Charlie asked. Was he worried about Edward? I should have given him more credit; he was a good man after all.

"No… hum… said he wasn't hungry" I said quickly. If he knew exactly what did Edward really need to eat…

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "You should have forced him to… he needs to eat to get better" he said. I had to suppress a laugh; the idea of _me_ forcing Edward to do something was simply hilarious.

"Its fine, dad. He'll eat later" I said, but the look on Charlie's eyes was strange. Conviction? Determination?

"Was that for him?" he asked, signaling the tray I had placed in the table. Just a bowl of cereal with some toasted bread.

"Err… yeah" I lied. In fact, it had been for me. I had planned to go upstairs and pretend he ate it while in reality it was I who did it… then I came up with the idea of him not being hungry, but I had forgotten to hide the tray.

"Maybe I should force him to, seeing that you don't have the heart to do it. He needs to eat" my dad told me. I tried to keep a smile on my face, but doubted I was succeeding. I remembered the way Edward had looked at my breakfast some time ago… but before I could say anything, my dad was already up and, the tray in his hands, moved towards my room.

It didn't surprise me to find Edward lying in the bed, pretending to be sick. He must have heard my dad's thoughts, for he had a slightly disgusted expression on his face.

"Bella told me you don't want to eat" Charlie said, trying to sound friendlier. I was surprised.

"Don't worry, Charlie. I'll eat later" Edward told him, but my dad was as stubborn as he was.

"Come on! You have to eat." My dad said, placing the tray over Edward's legs. Yes, he was definitively as stubborn as Edward. The way he looked at my dad was strange; he seemed touched by the gesture, despite the problem… so my dad really _was_ trying to be nicer. I felt touched too, for I knew he was trying only because of me… but I couldn't help feeling sorry for Edward; if Charlie knew what he was really asking to my poor vampire…

Edward sighed, faked to be coughing, and took the spoon. Charlie eyed him intently; he was determined to watch him eat something. Edward looked at me and, bravely, started to eat the cereal.

"It was not that bad, wasn't it?" my dad asked. I he knew… but Edward merely smiled politely to him.

"Make sure he eats it all, Bells. I have to go" He said, and leaved after I nodded, unable to say anything.

Once he had gone, Edward made a grimace and put the tray away, as far as he could.

"Sorry" I said.

"It's ok, Bella. I couldn't refuse; after all, he was thinking about my health… I would feel bad if I hadn't accepted the gesture, especially considering he doesn't like me too much" he said, but his face still showed the disgust.

So that's why he seemed touched. "At least he would never doubt you're human…" I said. He laughed, but stopped abruptly and closed his eyes.

"Does it still hurt?" I asked, worried.

"Not too much" he said. Liar. Why does he always have to protect me?

"Listen, I want to go to La Push. Maybe Sam or Seth know something about the werewolf, I want to ask them. Will you be fine?" I said.

"Bella, I'm stronger than any human. Of course I'll be fine… just be careful" he said. Obviously, the idea of me visiting La Push still made him anxious, but at least he trusted them enough –especially since he was friends with Seth- to let me go.

He suddenly grabbed my wrist and dragged me to him. He kissed me intently… his perfume filling my nose, the sweetness of his mouth all over mine. I touched his icy skin, enjoying the feeling. I forgot everything except him; I wanted nothing more than to stay like this forever… Again, I forgot to breath, and was a little dizzy when he stopped.

"Don't take long…" he said with a seductive tone that almost made me forget my plans and stay with him. But I had to go; if there was someone that could know anything about the mysterious hunter, it was the Quileute tribe.

--

_**I'm evil!! Poor Edward, I just couldn't resist the idea… and Charlie IS a good person, he would end up worrying about him (despite his efforts :P) and wait until you see what's next…**__** poor vampire, it will be hard to hide his identity U--**_

_**Please review! You make my day when you do (and inspire me to hurry up :P)**_


	5. Troubles

"Complication"

**BPOV**

When I arrived at La Push, I felt the familiar feeling of sadness. I couldn't escape the guilt I always felt when thinking about Jacob. I didn't regret any of my choices, but I felt bad when I thought I had hurt him more than he deserved… I wish someday, Jake would find someone to love…

I didn't realize I was out of my car and walking until I heard a familiar voice greeting me.

"Hi, Bella!" Seth said, cheerfully. Lucky me, exactly the boy I wanted to see.

"Oh, hi Seth" I said, still thinking about Jake.

"Jacob hasn't called yet, sorry… but how's Edward doing?" Seth asked. It feel good to hear him speak about Edward so lightly, like real friends… why couldn't the rest of them act like that? Wait a second… why is he asking? Does he know…?

He must have guessed my confusion. "Oh! Charlie was here in the morning. He told Billy that Edward was… hum… 'sick' and was staying at his house. Of course, Billy told Sam, and we all knew." Seth said. So he knew… for a brief moment, I wondered what the rest of the boys would think of me. Traitor?

"Can we speak in another place?" I asked. Not that I didn't trust the rest of them, but right now I didn't want to talk in presence of someone who thought Edward was a monster… so, Seth was the only option available. He nodded, and both walked towards the beach.

Once I was sure we were alone, I was ready to ask. I didn't expect Seth to start.

"So… how's Edward? Is he ok?" Seth asked seriously.

"Well, not exactly. He was attacked by a werewolf… he's injured" I said, trying to sound calm despite my own feelings about the incident. Seth sighed. "So you knew that?" I asked, surprised –again-

"Not exactly. Sam found a lone werewolf yesterday… he refused to come to La Push, but said he was attacked by a vampire. Sam is obviously angry" Seth said. It was worse than I had expected; if Sam thought Edward had started a fight, would he break the treaty? Start a war?

"So he's not one of you?" I asked.

"No. We're really confused. We thought we were the only ones capable of transforming, and now this man comes and shows us we were wrong…" Seth answered, frustrated.

"Has Sam said anything about it?"

"Yeah, Sam spoke with him this morning, when he offered him something to eat" Seth stopped suddenly.

"He doesn't allow you to tell me?" I asked.

"Well, no, it's not that… he hasn't prohibited it –yet- but I don't know… maybe he'll be mad at me" Seth said. I waited while he decided; I didn't know if his friendship with Edward was strong enough to do that. Seth sighed.

"Alright, I'm gonna tell you, but promise not to tell Sam, ok?" he asked. I nodded; I doubted Sam would want to talk to me right now.

"Well, he said his name was Alphonse, and simply added that the vampire attacked him while in the forest… he said it in a way that implied the vampire attacked without any reason. Sam is unsure; he thinks that means they broke the treaty and that we should attack; most of the pack agrees. I honestly don't know; I mean, we don't know him, and the Cullens hadn't broken the peace in all this time, why start now?" Seth said.

I couldn't speak. As I feared, Sam's hate towards the vampires was about to cause trouble. But my fear was mixed with fury at the strange hunter I didn't even know… he was trying to manipulate Sam in order to hurt Edward! I felt furious; Edward would _never_ attack someone just like that! How could Sam believe it so easily?

"Listen, Bella. This is serious. If Sam decides to attack, there would be nothing we could do to avoid it. Tell me Edward's version, Bella. Did he really attack first?" Seth asked. He was obviously worried not only about his friends, but about Edward too –that still was strange… a werewolf and a vampire being friends-.

I told him everything Edward had said last night; how he had been injured and why he had wounded the hunter. Seth listened quietly, but I didn't know what was he thinking; for a moment, I whished to have Edward's gift. He looked at me when I finished.

"I believe you" he said, "It fits somehow. The man avoided any attempt to get details about what happened, and he certainly seems too eager to attack" Seth finished, talking more to himself than to me.

"Do you think he's after Edward?" I asked.

"It seems so. He didn't know his name, but gave Sam an exact description of him… he seems kinda obsessed with him" Seth said. Obsessed? Why would he be so determined to kill –I shuddered at the word- Edward? He had done nothing.

"Edward is at your house, right?" I nodded again, "maybe he should stay there at the moment. As I said, Sam hasn't given any orders yet, but he's watching the forest… and he's angry. He really thinks Edward shouldn't have hurt the hunter, no matter the circumstances. But he can't do anything if he's with you" Seth said. I knew that; he wouldn't want to hurt Jacob, even if he wasn't here.

"I'll try to tell Sam what happened according to Edward, hope he gets suspicious enough to wait until we find out more. Sorry, that's all I can do" Seth said. I saw clearly on his face that he didn't want a war either, not after fighting alongside the Cullens, not after discovering they were not as bad as he had thought.

"Thank you, Seth… for all" I said, touched. "I have to go… I want to check on Edward. See you later, ok?"

"Yeah. Tell Edward I said hi… hope he gets better" Seth said.

"I will. Maybe you can go visit him?" I invited him. I knew he probably wouldn't be able to, but he smiled at me as if the idea was really appealing.

"Maybe" He said.

Once I was in my car again, I wondered why the rest of them couldn't be so open-minded. Sam, Embry, Jacob… why couldn't they all put aside their prejudices and just be friends? I sighed; I guess it's hard to fight instincts, but wasn't that exactly what Edward had done? Fight his thirst and instincts to be with me? Maybe, someday, they could do it too.

The hunter sighed. At least, the effort to move there had been worthy. He had seen the girl, heard her speak with that boy about a vampire… an injured vampire. It had to be the one he was searching. What was her name? Bella? Yes, that was it. Despite his frustration –he was still too injured to try and follow her- he could feel his revenge was close. He would be able to recognize her scent, track her, and then… it all would be over for them.

--

_**I'm definitively evil… but don't worry, we'll have more fun before all the angst**__**!! :P I don't know how Sam would react to that situation, but I guess he hates vampires so much his prejudice would make him think Edward is guilty, but he's wise enough to wait… I guess. I like Seth, though… he really forgot all that 'vampires are enemies' thingie and sees Edward as a friend (go, Seth!)**_

_**And more mystery at the end… you know Bella's a danger magnet (good definition, Edward :P) you really didn't expect her to be safe, right? Also, the werewolves involvement gives me an excuse for Edward to stay in her house… envy mwajaja :P**_

_**Thank you all for your kind and encouraging reviews… you really are the best!**_


	6. Another mistake

"Another mistake"

**EPOV**

I was bored. REALLY bored.

Normally, I would be running outside, or playing the piano, or hunting… but, since I had promised Bella to stay –and the pain gave her the reason in that- I had nothing to do. Besides, I was still worried about the hunter. The little pieces of his mind that I had read were filled with hate towards me… I understood that, but there was also a desire for revenge. What had I done to him? I didn't even know him.

I needed to hunt. I could feel myself getting weaker… which meant my injuries weren't getting any better; in fact, they hurt a lot. And Bella hasn't arrived yet… I'm starting to worry; maybe I should have gone with her. Ok, I need a distraction, really… maybe I should try to watch some TV; its noise would distract me enough.

I was downstairs in a second, using my vampire speed. I regretted the choice, my side and my leg protested immediately. I sat on the couch with a sigh and waited for the pain to lessen. I NEEDED to hunt or this was going to get worse. I found the remote and turned the TV on, not watching it attentively. What if I go after Bella? What if she was… I sighed again. I had to control my anxiety; nothing would happen to her in La Push… I guess.

'_Just when I thought I had everything… I should have put that paper on my car'_

Charlie's thoughts? Wasn't he supposed to be at the station? Oh, well… hope he don't try to force me to eat again, I still have the horrid memory of the taste in my mouth, and the disgusting consequences of it –I was forced to 'throw it up'-. Sure enough, Charlie entered the house moments later. He walked directly to the phone and started to talk to one of his deputies. He had forgotten an important paper here, but wanted to know which one, so the other man asked him to wait a little here; he'll call in a minute.

'_Great'_ Charlie thought. He finally noticed me on the couch and went towards me. I thanked all the gods I've had the good idea of cleaning my clothes of all the blood… it would have been impossible to explain that. He approached me, clearly uncomfortable.

"Good afternoon, Charlie" I said.

'_Great! He's here, now what? I can't avoid him now… focus… think of Bella… think of Bella…' _

I had to fake a coughing fit to hide my laugh. Certainly, it was had for Charlie to be nicer to me –again, I didn't blame him- but I felt touched. He was willing to try just to make Bella happy, which made _me_ happy too. He sat next to me, as far as the couch allowed.

"You should be in bed" He said.

"I was bored" I answered. It was true, after all.

"You don't look too good… are you ok?" he asked. _Yes, well, despite being attacked by a werewolf and having two wounds that hurt like hell, oh! Yes and being terribly hungry -for blood-, I'm fine_ I thought sarcastically, but felt grateful; he was really worried.

"Yes. Don't worry Charlie. I'll be fine" I answered instead. I laughed –coughed- again; Charlie's next question was a good one.

"Have you called your father? I'm sure he'll be worried if he knew you're sick" Charlie said. Yes, he'll be really worried if he knew. Esme surely would turn frantic with worry… that's why I haven't called them –well, that and the danger of my hunter-.

"No. It's nothing serious, really. I don't want to worry my family" I said. Again, this was true… more or less.

'_The kid's not so bad, after all. Tries not to worry his family… but he really looks bad. I wonder if it's just a __cold.'_ Charlie thought. I couldn't blame him; considering I had lost the blood I'd consumed –thanks to that werewolf- I was practically starving. The shadows under my eyes were deeper, my skin paler, surely he had noticed.

I saw the thought in his mind, but couldn't avoid it. He would consider it rude, or start to suspect. He touched my forehead with his hand, trying to see if I had a fever. The reaction was immediate; he quickly moved his hand away from my icy skin. I held my breath, hoping for his thoughts to reveal how bad it was.

'_My God! He's so cold! What has he been doing? Playing with ice? No wonder he looks so pale… that's definitively NOT a simple cold! He should see a doctor. Maybe I could call someone…'_

I felt relieved. At least he had attributed the coldness of my skin to my 'disease'. But that only meant more trouble: what would I do if he decided to call a doctor? There were a lot of things said man would find abnormal… It was time to retreat, before it was too late. I stood up slowly, trying to hide the pain it caused, while Charlie continued watching me intently. He didn't even try to hide his concern.

"Maybe you're right. I should be in bed" I said, and walked towards the stairs. Another mistake. In my attempt to escape Charlie's scrutiny, I had moved faster than normal, faster than my leg allowed at the moment. The pain was too much this time, and I grabbed the stairs' banister for support, clenching it with more strength than I should… it cracked a little. Charlie heard the sound and came to see me, leaning against it with a pained expression.

'_He definitively needs a doctor… he's in pain, I haven't even noticed it__! And what about the banister? He feels too weak to walk? Yes, I'm definitively calling a doctor. Bad luck his dad is not here…'_

That was it. My doom. In my attempt to escape, I'd made things worse… who would have thought it? He approached me and reached for my arm, obviously trying to help he stand; but I couldn't allow him to touch me again, I couldn't make another fatal mistake.

"Dad? What happened?" Bella's voice saved me. I guess I was luckier than I'd thought.

"Bells! Nothing, I just forgot something and found Edward here… I was going to help him upstairs; it seems he doesn't feel too good" Charlie answered. _'That's right... just think of Bella… It's not as hard as I thought, being nicer to him… maybe I've been too harsh with him?'_ It was hard to avoid contact with him when his thoughts were like that. I'd feel bad if I hurt his recently-discovered feelings.

Bella looked at me, worried. Unlike her dad, she knew exactly what was happening with me. The phone rang; another stroke of luck.

"Don't worry, dad. I'll help him" she said. Thank God for that. She grabbed my arm and pretended to be helping me with the stairs. Charlie was on the phone, relieved to be free of the task.

Once we were in her room, she forced me to lie down again. I just sat down. When she did the same, I grabbed her head carefully with my cold hands and kissed her. It was nice to have her back, even if she was gone only for some hours. My nose filled with her sweet scent, and the feeling of her soft, warm mouth against mine was certainly something incredible. If she thought she was the only one who got dizzy after a kiss, she was wrong. I stopped after a moment, when her scent started to make my throat ache. She looked at me, obviously as mesmerized as I was.

"How was it?" I asked softly, while kissing her neck softly. If I was thirsty anyways, why don't enjoy it?

"Hum… fine…" She murmured with a shaky voice. I chuckled, but stopped; I was curious to know.

"Well, tell me" I asked her. She made a face; obviously she didn't want me to stop what I was doing. Then she smiled suspiciously… I got frustrated; I wanted to know what was she thinking.

"I'll tell you, if you kiss me again" she said. Well, that was a price I could pay… too gladly.

--

_**See? I told you Charlie and Edward in the same house could bring trouble… poor Edward :P **_

_**I found very interesting to write a kiss in Edward's perspective. Since I've read Midnight Sun, I know he's as fascinated with Bella as she is, and he has the same reactions –more or less- when he's near her… so I decided to try it. How was it? -**_

_**Please Stephenie, finish Midnight Sun!! T-T after I read it, I'm more convinced that she HAS to publish it crosses fingers**_

_**Ok, enough of my babbling. Thanks for reading!**_

_**goes to fight with her stubborn computer… get to work!**_


	7. Danger approaching

"Danger approaching"

The black wolf stood up slowly. He was still a little sore, but he could manage… after all, the leech should be in worse conditions. The vampire hadn't hunt in all this time –he knew it, thanks to Sam's memories about his surveillance-, so his wound would be far from healed. The hunter only had to track the girl's scent and…

He heard someone approaching, and growled in warning. Another wolf emerged from beneath the trees; it was Sam.

"_He's too tense… maybe Seth is right"_ Sam thought.

"_Who the hell is Seth?"_ the hunter, Alphonse, asked. Sam looked at him, shocked. He could communicate with him? Why?

"_You can…"_

"_Yes, I can. Don't ask… let's just say I used to be one of yours"_ the hunter said mysteriously. Sam doubted… there was something wrong with this. He didn't trust this man.

"_So, have you decided? Are you going to help me or not?"_ Alphonse asked. Sam merely looked at him; he had made a choice, no matter how much he wished to do it.

"_No." _Sam answered. The other wolf looked at him, furious. _"We're not sure about the events and, since you're not willing to give us more information, we decided to wait until all is clear enough. We can't risk breaking the treaty by mistake" _Sam said. After all, if someone was going to start a war, he preferred it was the vampires. The hunter growled.

"_My wounds are not proof enough?"_ he asked.

"_Well, if you told me exactly what happened…" _Sam said, confident. He knew Alphonse didn't want to give details, which was reason enough to suspect.

"_You'__re a traitor too! You side with the leeches against your own kind!"_

"_I don't know for sure if you are really 'my kind'" _Sam answered calmly. Alphonse had implied he was a descendant of the tribe, but he could be lying at that, too.

"_Fine. I don't need you. I'll do it by myself, as always" _the other wolf said. Sam sighed; he was crazy if he thought he could beat a vampire alone… but maybe, considering Seth's memories, he could. The memory of Seth made Sam remember what he wanted to say. The only warning he would give as pack leader.

"_Honestly, I don't care if you kill him or not. But I must ask you something… don't hurt the girl. Bella Swan must NOT be injured, or you'll deal with us" _Sam said. The other wolf looked at him with a mixture of anger and surprise. Had he said something wrong?

He had. Alphonse saw in his head the image of the girl, Bella Swan… he had heard the surname before, when he had arrived. He growled in pleasure; he had not only the girl's scent, but also a name he could track. Without answering Sam's warning, he ran away. His vengeance was near.

**BPOV**

I was really worried about Edward.

It had been two days since I had gone to La Push and heard Seth's warning. I had managed to keep Edward from hunting, and was doing all I could to make him comfortable, but it was obvious he wasn't right. Each time it was harder for him to fake he felt fine; I could see him grimacing in pain sometimes, despite his efforts. I knew he needed to feed in order to heal, but I couldn't let him out and risk an encounter with the werewolves.

I sighed, placing myself closer to him. He sighed too; since it was raining outside, he was reluctant to be that close… he thought I would feel too cold. Silly vampire; I didn't care about that as long as I was in his arms, he should know it. I caressed his chest, enjoying as always the smoothness of his skin and the perfection of the muscles there. I continued until I found the bandage he used to protect his injured side… it still felt strange to see it there; to me Edward was invincible –as any vampire- and the sight of it was simply out of place. I touched it slowly, trying to see how bad it was… he moved almost imperceptibly.

"Does it hurt too much?" I asked, looking at his beautiful face. He smiled, as he always did when I asked that particular question.

"Don't worry, Bella. I'm fine" he said. Now I was angry… can't he just admit he's not fine?

"No, you're not! Stop pretending you are!" I said. Edward sighed. "Look, I know you don't want to make me worry, but I know you're not fine… can't you just be honest and stop thinking about my feelings?" I asked, a little more rudely than I wanted. I was just frustrated; I wanted him to be better.

"You don't want me to be honest… believe me" Edward said, serious. Well, at least he had admitted he felt bad; it was not comforting, but it was the truth.

"Sorry. I just want you to get better…" I said, hugging him. He immediately put his arms around me. I took the opportunity and kissed him softly, then placed my head on his chest.

"I should be sorry, not you. I'm causing so much trouble with Charlie… I wish I could go hunting" Edward said. Typical… he always had to think of others instead of himself. As selfless as always. Then I realized what he was implying.

"You can't go out yet! What if you find him? What if Sam has decided to attack?" I said, a little frantic.

"It was just a thought. I promised you I'll stay until all was clearer, I'm not planning to disobey you… I'm your prisoner, remember?" he said with my favorite crooked smile. I smiled at him too, though I couldn't erase the worry in my eyes.

"All's going to be fine, Bella. I don't think Sam would act so impulsively" he said, trying to comfort me.

"That's wrong…" I said. He looked at me, confused. "I should be the one comforting you, not the other way around… you're the one who's hurt here" I said, hiding my face in his shirt. He laughed, but stopped abruptly. I panicked.

"Again? Maybe we should try some medicine, I have…" I started, but he wasn't paying attention. He looked… scared?

"Charlie's here" he said. So? Why was it so bad? He seemed to guess my question. "He's not alone… he kept his promise. He's with Doctor Snow, one of Carlisle's colleagues" he said with a resigned tone. I looked at him, terrified… one thing was hiding the truth from Charlie, another one –totally different- to hide his vampiric nature from a trained doctor.

This was going to be difficult.

_**Oh, Edward! How I make you suffer!! I feel bad… well, maybe not :P. I know, not too much happening here, but don't worry, I'll update very soon nn. God! I made my hunter quite mysterious, didn't I? Unn**_

_**About the names, well, the hunter's was simply the first name that came to my mind; about the doctor… I picked that up from Twilight: Carlisle mentions having to replace him for a while :P**_

_**Remember, If you have any interesting idea, please share it! I'd love to know!**_


	8. Visits

_**Yep, I'm definitively a fanfic-wocaholic :P… All hail my boss**__**!! (he hasn't sent me new translations to make so… here I am :P)**_

"Visits"

**EPOV**

If I had thought I was finally safe, I was totally wrong. When Charlie didn't call anyone that fateful day, I felt relieved; I thought he had given up the idea. I should have known better… he certainly was stubborn. Bella looked at me with fear; she knew it would be difficult to hide certain things from a doctor. I kept silent, listening to the conversation below.

"_He's upstairs with my daughter" Yes, as unusual as that sounds. _Charlie's thoughts, as always, showed annoyance at my presence. I have to give him some credit, though; he's being nicer after all. If I was human, those details would have been really good… but I wasn't human, which was the problem to begin with.

_Mmmm. Strange. I've never heard of Edward being sick. Carlisle hasn't mentioned anything similar… guess he's just discreet. "Ok, I'll follow you"_ Dr. Snow's thoughts were potentially dangerous. He noticed I never got sick before… maybe I could use this to my family's advantage.

"Bella?" I said. She immediately looked at me.

"Yes?"

"Can you call Carlisle?" I asked. She looked confused. "His number is on my cell phone. Just tell him I have a 'cold' and that he should call Dr. Snow to tell him" I said. I just hoped Carlisle would follow my façade.

"Ok. Maybe I could subtly say to him what's the situation here" Bella said. I nodded; if she could do it, maybe it was the best. I'll have to tell them sooner or later. Bella went out, and entered minutes later, but she was not alone.

Both men entered with her.

"Hi, Edward. How are you doing? Charlie told me you were sick" Dr. Snow said politely. I faked a coughing fit… I couldn't tell a different story in front of Charlie. _Well, he looks a little pale, but nothing important considering his normal color._ Great. At least the doctor wasn't as shocked as Charlie.

"Just a cold. I got caught in the rain" I said, smiling.

_I doubt it's just that. He's freezing, for God's sake!_ Charlie's thoughts. I just hoped he could leave us alone. I doubted I could convince the doctor with him here. Behind them, Bella watched me worriedly. The doctor noticed my stare.

"Hi! You must be Bella, Edward's girlfriend" The doctor said, smiling. I had to fake another coughing fit, the scene was just hilarious. Bella blushed intently –something bad, but I was too amused to care-, and Charlie looked as much as I did when he had forced me to eat.

_Yes. Unfortunately, she is… no, wait… think of Bella… calm down… he's not as bad as you thought._ Charlie thought intently.

_Well, they make a nice couple, after all. Though it seems her father doesn't approve._ Dr. Snow's thoughts were kinder to me, at least.

"Well, I should leave you" Charlie said –thankfully-, and made a curious gesture to Bella, implying she should do the same. However, she stayed.

"Tell me Edward… how do you feel?" Dr. Snow started, and let his stethoscope at the little table near my –Bella's- bed.

"He's been coughing a lot, and he's a little tired" Bella explained, distracting the doctor. Good. I took the stethoscope in my hands and broke it slightly. I left it at the table before the doctor turned again.

"Well, let's see… oh!" he said the moment he noticed the broken instrument. _How weird… I didn't see it was broken. _He thought. Bella looked at me and I winked; she was the only one who knew really what had happened.

"Sorry, Edward. It's broken…" he said, apologizing for his 'mistake'.

"Don't worry, Dr. Snow. After all, if my heart wasn't beating, I wouldn't be here, right?" I said, and laughed at my own joke. Bella joined me.

"You're right" the doctor said. If he knew… "Well, I'm going to check your temperature, ok?" he continued. Damn. That was a hard one.

"What a coincidence! I just checked it minutes before you arrived" Bella said. Well, she was improving at lying… I'm a bad influence for her. The doctor looked confused. _Well, it seems she has taken good care of him… I wonder why Charlie was so worried_. Well, because he touched me and felt my icy skin… just that.

"Then, I'm just going to do a little check up" Now to trouble number 3. I was still thinking of a way to excuse me, when Dr. Snow's phone rang.

"Yes? Oh, hi Carlisle!" he said. I sighed in relief. My father certainly had a good timing. I heard the conversation on his head.

"_Hi. Bella called me a moment ago. Are you with them?"_Carlisle's voice sounded calm. The sound of it calmed me too, a little.

"Yes. Her dad told me Edward was sick and came to check on him"

"_Oh, yes. Don't worry, it's just a cold. I checked him myself before leaving. I tried to convince him to let me stay, but you know__ him… he didn't want me to miss my vacations, and it was not something serious"_ Carlisle said.

"Really? Then he shouldn't have gone out in the rain…" Dr. Snow said. Carlisle was silent; he was pretending to be shocked.

"_He did what?" _Carlisle said, pretending to be angry. Again I had to hide a laugh. "_I guess I should have known… just tell him to take his medicine. Sorry to bother you"_ he finished. Dr. Snow looked at me disapprovingly. _He should have obeyed his father._

"Alright then. Don't worry, I'll tell him" Dr. Snow said.

"_Thank you. Can you tell him I'm going to call him later?"_

"Sure. See you"

"_See you, and thank you again"_

Dr. Snow put his phone in his pocket again. I sighed, relieved. Bella smiled behind me.

"Now, Edward. You should have listened to your dad. He says you keep taking your medicine. I assume you have it here, right?" he said. I nodded… yeah, right. "Ok. He told me he will call you later… I guess I should go now" he said. _Maybe I should check him anyway… no, I guess Carlisle wants to treat his son himself. Don't blame him; any father would react that way. _Thank God. He believed it.

Once he was gone –and Charlie had gone to visit Billy- Bella and I sighed. It had been close. _Really_ close.

"Well, that was close" she said, "for a moment I thought Carlisle wouldn't make it in time"

"Yes, me too. By the way… what did he tell you?" I asked.

"Well, he's pretty worried. I think I heard Esme's frantic voice next to him… anyways, he said he'll call you to get the details" Bella said. Of course Esme would be frantic. I felt guilty for that. Suddenly, my phone rang. I answered immediately, knowing they all were surely worried.

"Ok, Edward. Tell me everything" he said, worry evident in his voice. I took a deep breath, and started.

--

The hunter was near his prey, he could feel it. It had been easy to find the girl's home; his father was a police officer, and her scent was clear enough to follow. He had arrived at the same time her father and another man entered a house. Great. Now he knew exactly where to look. He waited impatiently under the heavy rain… those two men didn't have to get involved, they knew nothing. He would wait until they leaved. Finally, after some time both went out. The girl and her leech boyfriend were alone, and he was still injured… with another growl of pleasure, he moved towards the house.

_**We finally arrive to the interesting moment!! :P Seriously, this was hard to write… I was thinking as hard as Edward in a way to make the doctor leave hope it works.**__** Poor Esme, imagine her reaction when she knew her adopted son was injured and she was miles away… I can't even imagine Alice's frustration when she finds out she didn't see a thing :P**_

_**Yep, the bad wolf is finally there… and we're closer to know why he hates Edward so much (I think I made it too obvious –damn!- by his memories… but maybe not…?) Keep reading, and thanks for your kind reviews (one of you actually has a pretty similar idea to the end… but not totally, I'm not telling what is right, mwajaja!)**_

_**PD: We want Midnight Sun!!It's great!! (It helped me a lot with Edward's POV)**_


	9. Separation

"Separation"

_**Because you asked it… the Cullens! **__**:P**_

**CarlislePOV**

I looked through the window of my car, trying to relax. The moment Bella had called me, we all decided to return to Forks immediately. Once I called Edward, we were already halfway near the town. At my side, Esme looked very worried –reason enough to try and calm my own feelings-, the only sign of her evident distress was the way her hands moved in her lap, frantically grabbing anything at her reach. At the back seats, Alice and Jasper were in the same mood (thankfully, Rosalie and Emmett were traveling in _her_ car)… she couldn't believe she hadn't seen anything –and was quite angry about that-. I felt sorry for Jasper; after all, he felt not only his own worry and fear, but the others as well.

"I can't believe this! Why didn't he call us? What was he thinking?!" Alice's voice was heard. She was practically yelling. Jasper sighed.

"Maybe he thought we'll be in danger" He told her.

"Great! Why does he always have to be like that? He should have known I wouldn't be able to see it… he should have told me! Argh! He knows how frustrating it is not to see!!" Alice continued. Finally, Jasper seemed to guess he was not going to calm her despite his talent, so he focused on the road.

At my side, Esme turned to see me. If she could produce tears, she surely would be crying.

"I hope Edward is fine. We shouldn't have let him alone" Esme said. Of course, she was thinking like the mother she was to him. I had been reluctant too but he was, after all, more than a hundred years old… I trusted him.

"Don't worry, Esme. I'm sure it's all going to be fine" I said, hoping she would believe my confidence. In fact, ever since I've called him, I felt something was wrong… I was afraid for him, my first companion, my _son_. Of course I couldn't show it to the others; I was the head of my family, the leader of my coven, I had to be strong for them. However, I had a bad feeling about this… like something terrible was about to happen. I just hoped we could arrive in time.

**BPOV**

Edward and I were sitting at the couch, watching a movie. After all the doctor 'incident' we both needed something to relax. After a while, we were both laughing at the whole thing. It felt so nice just to be there, next to him, with his arm protectively around my shoulders. It made me forget for a moment why I should be worried.

"So, what was Charlie thinking when the doctor said I was your girlfriend?" I asked curious. My dad's face had been funny to watch. Edward chuckled.

"He was picturing the idea of you and I being together in your room again… honestly, I didn't guess he thought so low of me" he said, smiling.

"Well, he's a little prejudiced, don't you think? Besides, any parent would worry… Imagine Esme in the same situation" I said, smiling. IF Esme was human, and IF her sons were that weak. Edward laughed again.

Suddenly, the lights were gone. Fortunately, there was still a little day light outside, but I pressed myself closer to Edward. Surely my vampire boyfriend wouldn't be scared by darkness, right? I was surprised, though, when I felt his body tense. At first I thought I had hurt him, his injuries still there, but when I saw his face I knew that wasn't the case… he looked so serious, it made me think of that time at the clearing, when James had showed his desire to kill me.

"Edward?" I asked.

Before he could answer, a huge figure emerged from the window. A black, fierce wolf. Edward immediately grabbed me and pushed me out of its way, while growling ferociously at the wolf. It looked so much like Sam, but Edward's reaction showed me it must be the hunter, the one who had injured him. The wolf immediately charged towards us; Edward pushed me behind him and moved towards the creature too.

"Edward, no!" I screamed, afraid. He was still wounded, how could he attack? But both had started to fight now. However, Edward managed to hit the wolf with such strength he sent him towards the wall. I think I even heard a cracking sound... had he broken his bones? Edward grabbed my hand and all but dragged me outside the house.

"Are you ok?" he asked. Again I felt annoyed at his selfless attitude, but I was still shocked so I only nodded. He then searched quickly the threes in front of us, looking for what I didn't know. Suddenly, he sighed. He had found what he'd expected.

"Seth!" he screamed. Seth? What was he doing here? But, surely enough, I saw the sand-colored wolf emerge from beneath the forest. I wondered why he was here… as if guessing my thoughts, Edward explained quickly.

"Sam doesn't trust the hunter. He sent Seth here to make sure he wouldn't hurt you" he said. I frowned; I could see where Edward's plan was heading. "You'll go with him, I'll deal with the hunter" he finished. Just as I feared.

"No. Please don't go!" I begged him. I couldn't hear the hunter inside the house, but I knew he'll be outside soon. Seth looked at him.

"Promise me" Edward said to him. Seth moved his giant head in agreement.

"No, Edward. Don't do this! Please!" I begged again. I couldn't leave him go alone, what if he… No, he couldn't face the hunter, not like this, not in his current condition. I cried softly. Edward took my face in his hands, caressing my cheeks to wipe away the tears.

"Don't worry, Bella. He's not going to hurt you…" he started, but I interrupted him.

"It's not me I'm worried about!" I screamed at him.

"It's going to be fine. I'm going to be fine. I promise you… I'll see you later, ok?" he said in a soothing tone. Then, he kissed me fiercely, and I put my arms around him to answer. Despite the normal dizziness, I could tell he was afraid too, and that he was kissing me as a way to say goodbye. I refused to believe it, but what if it was true? What if that horrendous wolf killed Edward? The thought sent new tears to my eyes. Suddenly, Edward broke the kiss.

"He's awake. You must leave now" he said, urgency clear in his velvet voice. Before I could do anything, he grabbed me and placed me on Seth's back. Normally, I would have been ashamed, but right now I had more important things on my head.

"I'll see you later. I promise" Edward said to me, his golden gaze filled with love and conviction. I knew he was going to fight to come back to me. "Go, Seth! Don't forget!" Edward said. Seth growled and looked at him again.

"Yes, you too. Don't worry, I will" Edward said. Then Seth started to run at the exact moment a black figure emerged from the house. I turned to see it. Edward started running in a different direction, and the wolf followed. However, it turned his huge black head to see me for a second before disappearing in the forest, running towards my Edward, my love, my life.

_**Another cliffie!! Sorry to make you suffer!! Well, I've received some theories about who exactly the hunter is… you'll find it soooooon :P**_

_**And yes, I'm starting to include the rest of the Cullens. We missed them! It was hard to be on Carlisle's shoes for a moment, I mean how could I express his 300 years of experience and wisdom? Hope it sounds like him U-o-.**_

_**As always, thanks for reading and for your encouraging reviews (you raise my self esteem!! lol) And yes! Someone predicted that! (sort of) but after that… nope, I guess not :P**_

_**Can't wait for the movie to come out!! Sorry… I HAD to get that out of my system :P**_


	10. The hunter's story

"The hunter's story"

**BPOV**

I lost track of time.

I could've been hours since Seth started to run inside the forest. The trees were a blur to me, but I didn't even felt dizzy anymore. All I could think of was Edward; he had gone alone to face that huge wolf, injured and surely weak… I wondered each minute if he was alright. Hundreds of dreadful images came to my mind, images of Edward lying lifeless on the ground, or images of the wolf attacking him. I sighed; I had to trust him.

Seth kept running. For a moment, I wondered what he was thinking. I wished –again- to read minds like Edward did; at least that way I could talk to Seth. Suddenly, he growled and started to run faster. What was happening? But when I turned to my right, I understood.

The black wolf was following us. He was already running parallel to Seth, and seemed to prepare an attack. I panicked, but not because of my safety… if he was here, where was Edward? I looked at the hunter again: he was so big he made Seth look weak; he looked even bigger than Sam, the pack leader. The wolf growled and charged towards Seth, who tried to avoid him without making me fall. The wolf charged again, this time pushing Seth with such strength we both fell to the ground. I crashed against a small tree, while Seth had managed to stand up quickly. For a moment, I was disoriented.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw the two wolves fight ferociously. The black wolf, however, seemed to have the advantage… it was evident he was far bigger and more experienced than Seth. They moved so fast it was hard for me to see them; I heard their growls each time they bite each other, and the blood… I wanted to help, but how? I saw a small rock near me, but I doubted it could be of any help.

Suddenly, Seth fell to the grown again, growling in pain. He tried to stand up, but he failed each time. I could see he was too injured; he couldn't fight against the hunter anymore. The black wolf approached him, ready to strike. Without thinking, I raised the rock and launched it at his head.

"Leave him!" I screamed. The hunter looked at me, jumped and in a second he was over me, with his enormous fangs near my throat. He growled, but didn't attack. I wondered what he was thinking. I closed my eyes, ready to feel the pain… but instead of that, I heard another growl near me, one that I clearly recognized and sent a wave of relief through my body.

I opened my eyes in the exact moment Edward appeared from beneath the trees, charging towards the hunter. He took him by the neck and hit him; again, the hunter fell far away, in the darkness of the forest.

"Don't dare to touch her!" Edward said, his voice full of fury. I heard another sound… a laugh?

The hunter came out of the darkness, but this time he was human. He was tall and strong, like the Quileute boys, but his eyes showed more experience. He looked familiar to me, but I couldn't understand why… as if I had seen him before.

"Who are you to order me? You insolent leech!" the hunter said with hate.

"Go away. No one has to be hurt. You can retreat now, in peace, if you promise me you'll never bother us again" Edward said. As with Riley, he was offering a pacific solution. The hunter laughed.

"Stop pretending you're the good guy here…" the hunter said. When I snorted at his words, he looked at me. "And you… you shouldn't have trusted him. How can you love a killer? A monster?" he said, grimacing.

"He's not a monster! He's better than you!" I screamed. I would never allow anyone to call Edward 'monster'. But the hunter laughed again.

"You don't know him, yet. Maybe I should refresh his memory… you're a monster… I've seen what you do. Do you want to hear my story, leech? So you can remember what you've done? So this girl know what you really are?" the hunter said. Edward kept silent, but I saw he was getting uncomfortable… the hunter's thoughts apparently were not agreeable to him.

"Years ago, when I was a child and lived in La Push, I had a friend. His name was Matt… he was like me, someone searching his place in the world, someone who wanted to live his life and do what he wanted. He was the first person I could freely talk to, the first one to know all my secrets and thoughts… not even my parents had been like that. We laughed and enjoyed every time we spent together; I felt very fond of him… he was like a brother to me, one that accepted me as I was, without trying to change it. When he grow up, he left the reservation; I felt very lonely without him… soon, I followed his steps and left too.

Life is strange, isn't it? I found him again, years later. We both were men now, but the bond was the same… it was as if we were kids again. I felt very happy to find him, the only one who understood me. We spent the days together, talking about the past and the future plans for our lives. I was happy again, but one day, everything changed.

I went out at night. I knew he sometimes walked in the streets during the night, -I suppose that he enjoyed the loneliness-. That day, I decided to join him. I saw him at the other side of the street; he was with a beautiful girl and they both entered a blind alley… I stayed where I was, I didn't want to interrupt if he was with his girlfriend. I waited for a while, wondering why was it taking so long, but then I heard something that made me run towards him. His voice, screaming… then, nothing.

I arrived at the alley, and hid to see what was happening. The sight made me sick… I saw another man, a boy with coppery hair, who was grabbing my friend with both arms while his mouth was pressed against his neck. Then, Matt's limp body fell to the ground, lifeless… the boy raised his head, and I could see his fierce red eyes and the blood dripping from his mouth. The girl was dead too. Before I could realize it, I was running… I ran to nowhere, crying. I arrived at an abandoned building, where I remained silent, thinking about what I had seen. The pain caused by Matt's death was replaced by rage, hate towards that creature that had killed the first real friend I've ever had. My body started to tremble, and in a moment I was not human anymore… I was a wolf. That was the first time I transformed."

I watched at the hunter, surprised. I couldn't believe it, Edward had killed his friend. But no, I couldn't hate Edward… he had told me about those days, when he had decided to hunt the bad and the criminals; surely, that man was not as good as the hunter thought, but still… I looked at Edward, and his face tore at my heart. He looked sad; more than sad, he looked in agony. He looked even worse than that time when Jane had tortured him… I was sure he would cry if he could. He was paralyzed, and looked at the hunter with horror and desperation. I knew he still felt bad for those days, and this was simply confirming his own thoughts. I felt the urge to hug him, to tell him it was alright, to comfort him… but I doubted I could move. How could the hunter not see the sorrow and regret in his eyes?

"Immediately, I felt grateful… this gift was the exact thing I needed to get my revenge. After some time, I returned to La Push. As all the Quileute children, I was raised with the legend of 'the cold ones' and I knew the creature had to be one of them; I researched all I could about them, I heard all the legends and myths around them. It took me a while, but the time was necessary to learn and control my new self… none of the tribe knew my secret, not even the woman I came to love… when I was ready, I left again. I searched all over the country for some clues, some signs that the monster had been there. I was starting to loose hope when I returned here. How ironic, don't you think? All this time searching for you, and you were hiding in my home…" the hunter continued.

Edward remained still, a statue, but his eyes showed all the emotions he was dealing with. When I looked at him more attentively, I realized he was _trembling_. I had never seen him like that, and felt furious at the hunter for making him suffer.

"Stop it! Edward never attacked good people! I'm sure your friend was not as good as you think…" I said, unable to control myself.

"A rapist… he was… a rapist…" Edward said, so low we barely heard him. He seemed to be talking to himself.

"Who cares?! I didn't care if he was a criminal, he was my _friend_! And who gave this leech the right to decide his punishment? Maybe he could have changed, he deserved a chance!" The hunter screamed. "But now, I finally would get my revenge… you took his life, and I'll take yours now" he concluded.

I saw as his body trembled, and in seconds the huge wolf was back, growling at Edward with a murderous rage. He charged towards him, ready to kill… but Edward remained paralyzed; he seemed to have given up hope. His eyes were full of regret and pain, of horror and despair. I wanted him to move, to defend himself, but he seemed so lost… he was ready to die. With tears in my eyes, I screamed.

"EDWARD!"

_**And another cliffie! Mwajaja! Well, now you know why he hates Edward… I wasn't sure of this, but I thought it was a good idea to make such a predicament. I mean, even bad people has someone who cares for them and loves them, don't you think? But that doesn't mean I blame Edward for taking those lives (maybe, if I were in his place, I would have done the same)… this chapter was difficult to make; such strong feelings!! And the contradiction of what is good or bad… argh! Hope it's alright.**_

_**I told you there was going to be angst, right? But don't worry, next chapter you'll see how Edward reacts –overcomes? - that.**_

_**Thanks for reading! We're about to watch a fight!... err… forget that last part :P**_


	11. Discovery

"Discovery"

**CarlislePOV**

I was running through the forest, with Emmett and Rosalie right behind me. We had arrived directly to Bella's house, and had seen the wreckage inside. We were able to follow the scent… Alice, Jasper and Esme were following Edward's, while my group was following Bella's. I was very worried now; Edward would never leave Bella alone except it was something really important. Was this wolf that strong? At my side, Emmett looked straight to the front, focused on his task. I've never seen him so serious… he really was worried about his brother. Rosalie looked afraid… afraid of loosing her brother, her family.

I was distracted abruptly by a voice, a scream so high and desperate it made me fear the worse. Bella's voice rose from the forest, yelling my son's name.

"EDWARD!"

We stopped. Emmett looked at me with panic in his eyes, and I knew I couldn't hide my own much longer. Had we arrived too late?

"Come on, Emmett. We have to go on" I commanded him, trying to 'wake him up'. He looked at me again, but this time it was different: there was rage in there. He was ready to kill anything that had dared to hurt Edward. At my side, Rosalie's eyes showed almost the same fury. Without a word, the three of us started to run towards the voice. Surely, the others would have heard it too, and were heading towards the same direction.

'_Please, let Edward be alright'_ was all I could think of, when I heard a growl of agony coming from the same place.

**EPOV**

I saw the wolf approaching, but I couldn't move.

During all my immortal life, I had grieved and felt ashamed of my mistakes in the past, of the lives I had taken… now I could really see what I had done, and it was too much to bear. The worst of it was that Bella –my Bella- had heard it all; she would finally know I was a monster, and she would finally run away. I had destroyed so much… he was right, who was I to choose who lived and who died? Who was I to punish someone? What if, as the hunter had said, he could have changed, given the chance? I felt terrible; I wanted to cry, to scream, to run away from it all. I couldn't think straight… The wolf had fallen over me, crushing my chest with his claws, but I didn't care anymore… I felt the hunter was not bad, after all; I felt he deserved his revenge. Yes, I certainly deserved death…

But then I heard her voice. Bella screamed my name with such desperation I felt bad for making her suffer.

"EDWARD, PLEASE! FIGHT!"

She wanted me to fight… why? Was she still in love with me, after all she'd heard? I turned with an effort to look at her face: I saw the tears coming down her cheeks, the pain in her eyes and the… love? Was it possible? Could she still care about me? I couldn't believe it, but the way she looked at me told me she LOVED me still. She was begging me to live, to return to her, and at that moment, I knew… I wanted to return to her. I had promised to do it, and she apparently forgave me for all my mistakes in the past. I felt hope and conviction grow inside my dead chest, giving me strength and a wish to live. If she wanted me still with her, by all the existent gods I would fight for it, too.

I growled at the wolf, so fiercely he stopped to look at me. Immediately I grabbed him by the shoulders and kicked him to send him away from me. He fell heavily on the floor, growling in pain. I stood up quickly, forgetting the pain of my wounds –old and new- and focusing on him. I wouldn't kill him, but I was going to win no matter what. I had to. Bella was waiting for me.

**BPOV**

I felt relieved when Edward finally started to fight. For a moment I thought he had given up, that he would die in front of me. But when he looked at me, I saw something in his eyes –his dark eyes… I'd forgot how weak he really was right now- he had recovered, and was willing to live. Now he was face to face with the big black wolf, growling at him. Before I could react, they both attacked.

It was so fast I hardly could see a thing. Most of it was a blur of black and white, a dance even more frightening that the one against Victoria. I whished I could see better: who was wining? Who had whimpered in pain? But I couldn't see clearly; all I could do was watch and pray that Edward came out as the winner, that he came out alive…

**EPOV**

This was getting difficult. I could read the wolf's moves on his mind, but my injuries sometimes prevented me from moving fast enough. He charged again, trying to reach my neck; I moved to avoid it, but my leg stopped me… he bite my shoulder instead, and I growled in pain. Before he could do anything, I grabbed him again and launched him on the floor. The hunter immediately stood up and charged again, but this time I moved to avoid him. He turned and charged again, and I did the same. I crouched to evade his giant head and grabbed his shoulders, growling when I heard the familiar cracking sound. He moved frantically, trying to escape from me… he pressed his front paws against my injured chest; the pain was so strong it almost blinded me, and he managed to escape. He attacked immediately, but I was prepared. I moved again at vampire speed, forgetting the pain it caused, and placed myself behind him. I tried to push him to the ground to subdue him, but he was fast and evaded me just in time. I felt the urge to bite him, I nearly did, but that would have been worse… after all, I had made something terrible to him, I couldn't risk another mistake.

He stopped, panting, while blood dripped from his muzzle. He was badly wounded; I had broken some of his bones, and had hit him really hard… but he was still up, as was I. No, I couldn't afford to think of my own wounds now, I had to focus. The wolf growled and charged again, and I did the same. But this time, he was thinking more than before.

'_Damn! This one is fast… maybe too fast. No! I can't loose, not now! How can he fight like this when he's injured?' _the hunter thought while he tried to bite my neck again. I evaded him as fast as I could. He was right; I was weak and hurt, and the effort was finally taking its toll –more than once, my sight had blurred in pain-. But I refused to loose. As we both moved, dancing around, his thoughts were more and more frantic and desperate… he was loosing his cool, and I could see I was starting to get the advantage, but at a higher cost: he wasn't thinking about strategy anymore, so it was harder to read what he would do next.

'_How the hell can he keep moving so fast? Can he read my mind?'_ Yes. Yes I can. I moved and broke one of his front legs… he whimpered.

'_DAMN! If only that stupid boy had decided to help…' _he thought, and I saw Sam's wolf form in his head. Suddenly, another mind entered his… a furious mind.

'_Shut up, you stupid wolf! You know nothing of Sam Uley!' _Seth's angry thoughts connected to the hunter's. He had been hearing all along, despite his injuries. I was surprised, however, when the hunter stopped abruptly… his thoughts were confused, as if he was in shock

'_Sam… Uley?' _he thought, perplexed. Then I knew it. I saw as the hunter repeated his own name over and over again, a name he had kept from all of us. Alphonse… Alphonse _Uley_.

_**Yeah! Did you **__**expect THAT? Well, I know someone actually did guess… good idea! Let's say Alphonse was so focused on Edward that he missed Sam's full name… fool.**_

_**The fight was hard to write… more than once I wanted Edward to bite the wolf, but that would have turned him into a vampire (or would have killed him… not that I mind much –but Edward does-) so I had to think of a fight were Edward doesn't bite, just uses his physical force… and he hasn't feed, and he's hurt… -sigh- he's going to hate me after this –Bella glares at Tsuyu ryu- yeah, she too :P**_

_**We're close to the end now… so sad! T-T I'd like to write another story when I finish this one… but I need Ideas! –Brainstorm, please!- :P**_

_**Thanks for reading! And sorry for the excess of POVs… I had to write them like that Un.n**_


	12. Fury

"Fury"

**EPOV**

I was as shocked as the hunter –Alphonse- when I found the connection inside his head. I saw each time he had spoken to Sam, his discussion with him… he knew he had a son, but had never expected to see him. He and Sam had always kept their distance when talking, so none of them had noticed that particular bond.

"Edward! What's going on? Fight!" Bella's frantic voice was heard. Of course she didn't know anything… I was distracted by Alphonse's thoughts again. They were dangerous.

'_Shut up, you stupid girl! How can you still defend him after all he's done…?' _Alphonse thought, but stopped when he read Seth's mind. He saw –and I saw it with him- the bond between Bella and I, saw the love we showed to each other; he didn't like that.

'_So… this girl will sure__ly become one of them soon! How can she even wish that?! She's not a common human anymore… she betrays her own. No! I have to stop that… I'll destroy her! One less leech in the world. Let's see how he deals with the pain I suffered…' _he thought.

I could see his moves before he could do anything. He charged towards Bella, who remained sitting on the ground. She only looked in terror at the giant wolf. I ran as fast as I could towards her. I'll never allow him to hurt her!

We both arrived almost at the same time. He opened his muzzle, prepared to bite her neck… I understood his hate towards me, but Bella… how could he attack so easily another human? Suddenly, I felt pain erupt from my injured leg. I fell, while the wolf approached Bella.

**BPOV**

I saw as both Edward and the hunter ran towards me… what was happening? The wolf jumped, his huge fangs exposed. Suddenly, Edward fell at my side, grimacing in pain. I was ready to feel the pain… but instead, I heard a familiar growl of agony in front of me.

Edward managed to move and place arm in front of me, and the wolf's fangs were piercing it with fury. The impact was so strong we both were pushed towards a tree. The wolf growled as we both crashed; Edward tried to move me to a safer place, but the wolf still had his arm on his muzzle… I fell over my arm, and heard a cracking sound when the wolf pushed Edward over my body… it was surely broken. I felt the pain, too strong to bear; then my head hit the floor and all went black.

**EPOV**

I heard as Bella's arm broke with the impact of my body on hers. Then I felt her body go limp. I roared furiously at the hunter and grabbed his head. He whimpered, but I didn't care anymore… If something had happened to Bella, he'll die. I pushed him aside with my hand, and he released my arm –luckily, he didn't tear it apart-, then I launched him as far as I could. He remained still for a moment, apparently disoriented by my attack.

I turned to see Bella. She was so still… I panicked. What if I had fell over her with too much force? What if she was…? Again, I felt like crying; I imagined my life without her, an eternity without her light. I couldn't live anymore. She didn't deserve this! How could I allow it? If she was… No, I had to make sure before loosing myself in panic. I moved my hand frantically over her chest, trying to find her heart. My hand was trembling, but I finally found it: there it was, her heart was moving. I sighed in relief, and looked quickly for any sign of injury. Her arm seemed to be broken, so I didn't move it. I caressed her face with one hand, while the other searched behind her head any wound… it was really hard, considering my hand was injured now. But it seemed it was just a concussion. I was forced to stop when I heard Alphonse's growl behind me.

I placed her head softly on the ground, and looked at him with fury. He had hurt my Bella… I was furious, more furious than I've ever felt in my life. I roared at him again.

"You'll pay for this, dog!" I screamed at him.

'_Don't worry, you're next!'_ he thought, and we both attacked again.

We moved and hit each other several times, but this time something was different… mingled with his rage and attacks, there was another story, one he had remembered when he saw me caressing Bella.

_He remembered an afternoon in La Push. He was walking with a beautiful woman, holding hands as they moved in the beach. He felt happy… he loved her._

"_So, you can't tell me?" she asked. Alphonse merely avoided her glance._

"_You're going, aren't you?" she asked again. He nodded. "Why? Why can't you stop leaving and stay here? Why can't you be a real father for our child?" she said._

"_I have things to do… I can't stay. You knew I was going to leave someday" he said bitterly. She was being difficult. He had been clear about that, but she wanted something different._

"_I thought that… maybe… you could forget" she said. _

"_I can't" he answered. _

"_How can you do this to me? And our child? You should act like his father instead of searching whatever you are!!" she yelled, angry._

"_Shut up! I told you clearly that I couldn't have a family the way you wanted! You should have thought better before accepting me!" he said, angry as well. He released her hand._

"_Alphonse, please…" she begged. He didn't even turn to see her._

"_Sorry…" he said, and walked away from her. _

So that's how it had happened. He had given up everything just for revenge. I felt even more sorry… he had ruined his chance for happiness. I felt even more furious at him… he had destroyed Sam's family and –no matter my personal feelings towards the pack leader- it had ruined his life. Was he trying to destroy everything good here?

Bella was still unconscious, I could see her. He made a strange sound when he noticed my gaze… was he laughing? Was he enjoying watching Bella's limp body? I roared at him again. I charged towards him, so fast he didn't see me. I hit him hard, breaking his bones, any part I could reach. Now I didn't feel the pain anymore; I was blinded by rage, I wanted to destroy him, to rip his limbs, to make him suffer… then I suddenly stopped. Not only because I remembered Bella –I would never kill again… she deserved better- but also because Seth's thoughts were clearer, speaking to me or to the pack, I never knew.

'_He's Sam's… dad? How can it be… the rest is coming. Sam is coming. Yesh! He's angry!'_ Seth said. We both stopped moving again. Alphonse was shocked, but this time I could clearly see why… he was going to meet Sam again –in fact, he already could hear him- only this time he knew who he was… his son.

I was focused on my own fears too. Sam was angry. I had hurt –almost killed- her father, no matter how good he was. What would happen now?

_**Told you it was not over yet… lol poor Bella!! I felt bad at writing this… well, maybe not :P – yes, Triccia, I couldn't resist the idea… a little different though… :P-**_

_**And the hunter wants Bella because she loves Edward –the Victoria syndrome :P- and because she'll surely become a vampire soon; ha… Damn you, Alphonse! **_

_**I didn't remember exactly when Sam's dad left, so I left it to your own imagination –insert Sam's age here- And Edward is pissed!! Edward looks at Tsuyu Ryu with rage O.O please forgive me!! I swear she'll be fine!! T-T**_

_**Please review! You are the best readers!!**_


	13. Encounter

"Encounter"

**EPOV**

'_Sam's… dad? How could this be?'_ Seth kept repeating in his mind. Suddenly, I detected more surprised thoughts in there. The other wolves were approaching, along with Sam of course.

I panicked. They had decided not to act because they didn't know the hunter, but now they surely had heard from Seth the sudden relation between them. What if they attacked me? I could hardly beat them all, and what if they considered the treaty was broken? I had to choose. Even if I surrendered –something I didn't want- the wolf still wanted to kill Bella, just because she loved me. I couldn't allow that; I would attack him, defeat him to prevent it.

The wolves were closer, I could hear them. I had to move. The hunter noticed it too, and tried to focus again, but it was too late. I moved quickly and braced his neck with my arms, pushing him to the ground. He didn't even growled, just tried to escape… but I could feel he was still confused, he couldn't react properly. I had him subdued.

**BPOV**

I woke up slowly.

I saw as Edward and the wolf remained still again. I didn't know what's happening here. In a moment, Edward and the wolf were trying to kill each other and, in the next, both had remained still. Even Seth looked surprised… I wondered why; it was obvious they had read something in someone's mind that was so shocking they had stopped.

I was really scared, too. When they stopped moving, I finally had a clear view of them. I felt like crying again. Edward remained standing, but even I could see it was hard for him to do so; he had a horrible wound on his chest, where the wolf had attacked first, and another one in his shoulder… he had a lot of cuts on his face and arms, product of the wolf's teeth and claws; he constantly grimaced in pain, and moved his injured leg in an attempt not to stand on it too much. The wolf was in no better condition: he was panting heavily, one of his legs hung loosely on his side, probably broken, and I could see something red coming from his mouth… blood.

Suddenly, Edward moved again –I was surprised he could still do so- and pushed the wolf even more. He didn't seem to offer any resistance as Edward pushed him to the ground, growling softly. I sighed in relief: apparently, it all was over.

"Phase back!" I heard Edward order the hunter. He remained still.

But it was not over. I heard another growl coming from the darkness, and then another black wolf came out of nowhere, pushing Edward aside. He fell heavily on the ground with a growl of agony. He stood up slowly, painfully, and looked as the other wolf prepared to attack.

**EPOV**

As I feared, Sam was really angry. I tried to think straight despite the pain I felt… surely, this would take time to heal.

'_Enough! He IS one of us, if you touch him again, I…' _He didn't get to finish. Emmett's figure emerged from beneath the trees too, pushing Sam to the side. The hunter then stood up and tried to attack, but Emmett charged at him… I've never seen him that furious before. The hunter was hurt, and Emmett was clearly the strongest of us, so he was on the ground again, while my brother growled at him.

"How dare you hurt my brother, you dog!" Emmett roared, preparing to give the final blow.

Sam tried to attack too, but Jasper came out as well and, gently but firmly, pushed him to the ground too… that was a relief; if someone attacked Emmett in front of Rosalie, I doubted that even Carlisle could prevent a war. The other wolves growled at us, while the rest of my family appeared as well. Emmett stopped.

"Please, stop. We came here in peace, just to protect one of ours. We don't have to fight" Carlisle's soft voice made me sigh in relief. I didn't have to resist anymore, he could handle this.

"Edward!" Esme screamed. I saw as she ran towards me, along with Alice. I felt sorry when I saw the fear in their eyes. My sight blurred; it hurt so much… I couldn't take it much longer. With another sigh, I fell.

**BPOV**

I felt relieved when I saw the rest of the Cullens. A relief that immediately vanished when I looked at Edward again. He looked even paler than usual, and seemed to be in a lot of pain. He suddenly collapsed on the floor.

"Edward!" I screamed again; I forgot the pain in my arm, the scratches on my arms, and ran towards him. Esme and Alice were already with him. Esme had managed to get to him before he hit the ground, and they both were on their knees while she hugged him. I feel to my knees too, trying to see how badly hurt he was, trying to see if he was moving, if he was alive.

My heart beat again when I saw he was. He had his eyes closed tightly, a pained expression all over his face; he was breathing heavily –because of the pain, I guessed… he didn't really need to breathe-. I looked at Esme; she was as worried as I was. I hugged them both, since she was reluctant to release him, and started sobbing.

"Edward… please, hold on" Esme said to him.

"I'm fine… just… a little…" he said, but stopped as he felt another wave of pain. "Bella…" he said softly. Esme then released him, and I was hugging him with all the strength I had –the most my arm allowed- . He moved slowly to return the hug, but I stopped him.

"Don't move, Edward. Just rest. I'm fine, we're all fine" I said between sobs. Before I could notice it, I was kissing him… his eyes, his cheeks, his forehead, until I finally met his mouth. I kissed him fiercely, releasing all my feelings of relief, sorrow and pain for his suffering. I had to show him I didn't care about what I'd heard, he had to feel how much I loved him… he had to feel I understood. He sighed and I stopped, afraid of hurting him even more. He opened his eyes slowly to look at me.

"Don't… stop" he said. I smiled despite the situation, and kissed him again.

When I stopped, Edward leaned on my shoulder. It was such a strange feeling, to have him there needing me when I'd always been the one who needed protection… I stopped my thoughts when I heard Esme's voice. I remembered it was not really over.

"Can't you see anything, Alice?" Esme asked. Alice sighed.

"No. The wolves are involved, so I can't see a thing" she said, angry. I understood her; at this moment, I wished to know too.

"I'm sure we can discuss this peacefully" Carlisle said to Sam, who was now human again… they all were, I didn't notice them changing; apparently, I had lost myself in my personal world with Edward again. Sam looked at him with a strange expression… he seemed to be dealing with a lot today.

"Can we please hurry? Edward's not doing too well" Emmett said. I didn't notice he was now beside me, watching Edward intently. What did that meant? I felt Edward tremble slightly.

"Emmett…" he muttered, closed his eyes again, and went limp on my arms.

_**God! Anyone who reads this will think I'm sadistic! :P But nah, just like to keep the drama there.**_

_**And, before you say anything… I know vampires probably don't faint, just wait to see next chapter… another hard one (all the Cullens together… and the pack… so much personalities!! Argh!)**_

_**By the way, I had planned to write just a little about the…um… encounter between Sam and Alphonse, but now I'm considering writing the whole talk between them (after this entire incident, I mean) what do you think? Would you like me to write it?**_

_**I'm bad!! **_


	14. Custody

_**Did you miss me? :P now to next chapter!**_

"Custody"

**BPOV**

I felt as Edward's body went limp, his weight falling over my arm and shoulder. I panicked even more.

"Edward? Please, answer me!" I practically yelled at him. He moved slowly, trying to regain his balance; however, I could notice he was somewhat absent, like he was about to faint… I wondered if vampires could actually loose consciousness.

"Sorry… to scare you…" he said, but I could see he was suffering. This time he didn't open his eyes to look at me, and his voice was almost a whisper. At my side, Emmett looked at him, worried.

"He needs to feed. Now" he said to me. I already knew that.

"Nobody leaves until we solve this" Paul's voice was heard. Emmett growled at him.

"He needs it! I know you don't give a damn about his health, but I do! Let's see if you can stop me!" Emmett said, furious, and tried to lift Edward. I looked at Carlisle, trying to see what he wanted to do.

"Calm down, Emmett. Surely, we can solve this quickly… my son needs treatment" Carlisle said, trying to sound calm. At his side, I saw Jasper watching the scene with a serious face; I guessed he was trying to calm down everyone in there.

"Stop it, Paul." Sam ordered when Paul trembled slightly. "We recently discovered this man is part of the Quileute tribe, so it is our duty to protect him" he continued.

"I understand. But you must consider he attacked my son first… he was just defending his life" Carlisle said. Sam seemed to think about that for a minute.

"He also attacked Bella, didn't he?" Alice asked, confident. The pack looked at me, then the hunter. He was still on the ground, apparently unable to move, but he was human again.

"Yeah! I'm sure he deserved that and more!" Emmett said.

"Shut up, you leech!" Paul said. Rosalie stepped closer to him, growling.

"Don't even think about it, dog" she warned him. I saw Jasper concentrate again, and both relaxed a little. I sighed in relief; when Emmett was involved, Rosalie could be really fierce.

Edward moaned softly. "Please, Rose… stop…" he said. She looked at him with a sorrowful expression, and nodded. I pushed him softly, so that he rested his head on my legs. At my side, Emmett chuckled –it always surprised me how easily he recovered his easy going attitude-.

"Well, at least you're enjoying it, aren't you?" he teased him. Edward merely sighed. Alice approached lo look at me.

"Are you ok, Bella? Does it hurt too much?" she asked me. Funny, I hadn't even thought about my own injury. But now that I did, it really hurt.

"Don't worry, Alice" I said. I realized –with humor- that I was doing the same Edward always did with me: diminishing my own troubles to avoid worrying her. She seemed to guess the same, and smiled sadly.

"I guess he's a bad influence for you. You're starting to talk just like him… fool" she said, stroking Edward's hair. He laughed softly, but grimaced in pain soon after. Alice stood up.

"Carlisle…" she said.

"I know, Alice" he said. Even I could hear the worry in his voice, but Sam remained still. "I don't want to pressure you, but we really need to know your decision" Carlisle said.

"Look, despite my… personal feelings about this, I can't allow you to hurt him. He's one of us" Sam said, a little unsure. I've never seen him like that. Carlisle sighed.

"We saw the disaster he created at Bella's home. We need an explanation for her father" he said. Shoot! I'd totally forgot that… how was I going to explain the disaster in the house? What was I going to tell Charlie?

"So, what? You plan to turn him in to the police?" Paul asked mockingly.

"Actually, that was my plan…" Carlisle said.

"He IS a criminal, after all. He tried to kill Bella!" Alice said. Sam looked at her, angry.

"I don't care… if he's caught, we'll all be in danger of being exposed. We'll deal with him" Sam said. Edward sighed as if he were counting on that… I was definitively missing something here, something big. "Of course, if you consider the treaty is broken…" Sam said, trying to see Carlisle's reaction; apparently, he thought the vampires would gladly start a war.

"No. He's not really part of the pack, no matter how you see it or the relation between you and him. As far as me and my family are concerned, the treaty is still on. You can take him as long as you promise to keep a good watch on him… it would be dangerous if he escaped" Carlisle said. Sam nodded, and made a sign to Paul and Embry. They both helped the hunter to stand up, and then moved towards the reservation. I think I saw him look at me briefly before leaving… maybe it was just my imagination.

"Thank you" Carlisle said.

"Never mind" Sam answered coldly. The group then leaved.

Once they were out of sight, Carlisle practically ran towards me and Edward. Before I could notice it, the Cullens were all gathered.

"Edward" Carlisle said to get his attention. I watched in horror as Edward slowly, painfully moved to a sitting position. Esme suppressed a gasp.

"My poor child" she said to him.

"Sorry… mom…" he said, and then looked at Carlisle again. "Is it necessary? I'm not…" he started, but stopped and closed his eyes in pain again. My poor Edward.

"Sorry, son. But I think we need to convince Bella's father about this. You'll need to be here" Carlisle said. I was confused. Edward nodded bravely.

"Charlie's coming. He has seen the disaster in his house" Alice said.

"Jasper, maybe you should go and bring him here… we'll need to be convincing" Carlisle said. Jasper nodded and disappeared.

"Wait a second… what are you talking about? What are you going to do?" I asked, desperate to know. The others looked at Carlisle too.

"Since your father had seen what happened in your house, and he knows Edward was there, we'll need to convince him it was just a common thief that entered the house. We arrived earlier to check on Edward, saw the broken window and looked for you two. The thief attacked you, but Edward managed to defend you just in time for his brothers to arrive… so we're now here. He escaped from Emmett, and we were about to call him" Carlisle said. I looked at him surprised; he had said it all with such confidence I doubted my dad would suspect. Why couldn't I lie so convincingly?

Edward tried to stand up. He staggered a little, but managed to stay up. Emmett put one of Edward's arms around his shoulder for support.

"Man, you're really messed up! What a vampire you are, bro…" Emmett said, chuckling. Rosalie rolled her eyes, exasperated.

"Thank, Em… that helps… a lot…" Edward said, but he was smiling.

Meanwhile, Alice had brought Carlisle's small case, and he was now checking my arm. He bandaged it firmly, which sent tears of pain to my eyes. I was glad Edward was so out of it to notice.

"Well, this will do for now. But you'll need a cast… I'll do it later if you want" he said to me.

"Yes. Thank you, Carlisle" I said, grateful. For someone like me, having a doctor like Carlisle was a blessing. He smiled at me.

"No, thank you. For taking care of Edward" he said. I blushed intently.

"It's not necessary, really… I love him, I'll do anything for him" I said. At his side, Esme smiled warmly at me.

"Charlie's almost here. We better start acting like humans" Alice said. Edward sighed; I could see this was going to be difficult for him, but Carlisle was right… my dad would search for him, and it would be worst if he didn't find him here.

Despite the Cullens confidence, I felt a little scared. My father had blamed Edward for my injuries once, what would he do now? I heard some footsteps nearby… Jasper had returned, along with my father and some of his officers. Oh, no. This was getting harder.

_**OH, my! What a difficult chapter!! I still have trouble with Carlisle… so much wisdom and experience for me, silly mortal. :P Ok, so Sam's very mature, we know that –he had to be, considering his dad was not around… until now -- **_

_**Oh, and some of you seem to have theories about who Matt –the hunter's friend- really was… I actually hadn't thought about that, it was just a character I made to make Alphonse hate Edward –it worked!- but now I'm reconsidering… maybe if you give me some ideas about who he could've been, I'll add them here…**_

_**Next chapter will be more…hum… relaxed? A little, considering we still have to deal with Charlie (and you know how that always turns out!) but I hope the final chapters (yes, more than one… I still have some things to set up) will be good enough.**_

_**Thanks for your support! And thanks to Andys-lovelytwilight for the amazing ideas!**_


	15. Wounds

"Wounds"

**BPOV**

"Bella!" Charlie said, and ran towards me. I merely stood there while he hugged me tightly. I think I heard Emmett's soft laugh behind me…

"Please, dad… I'm fine, really. Unless you want to break my ribs too" I said to distract him. He immediately noticed the hidden message and stepped away, then looked at my bandaged arm. His face changed immediately.

"What happened?" he said ruefully. I noticed he looked at Edward… logically, my dad would blame him. "What have you done this time?!" he practically yelled at him.

"Sorry, Charlie" was all Edward said. I felt furious, why he didn't defend himself?

"That's all you can say? Look at Bella, she's hurt! This is all your fault, isn't it? Why can't you just…" Charlie started, but his rage died the moment he took one good glance at him. Edward was leaning heavily on Emmett, and his left leg looked really bad… I didn't like that, and I didn't even have a good view of the rest of his injuries. Before my dad could say anything more, Carlisle moved beside me.

"She broke her arm. Don't worry, Mr. Swan, it's nothing complicated" Carlisle said, calm as always. Charlie looked at him; luckily, my dad really liked Carlisle.

"Please, call me Charlie. Can you please tell me what happened here?" he asked, but he was looking at Edward.

"Sorry, Charlie, we had a little incident… I think my dad should tell you." Edward managed to say. I was surprised to hear his voice was now clear and firm. He was a really good actor if he could fake like that.

"You ok, kid?" Charlie asked. Of course he was not. Thank god he wasn't bleeding or this would have been much harder to do.

"Yes, don't worry. Just a little weak" Edward said. Yes, he definitively should be an actor.

Carlisle cleared his throat to get my dad's attention; he told Charlie the exact story he had invented minutes ago. Immediately after he finished, Charlie looked with surprise at Edward… apparently, he never thought he could be that strong. I sighed; if he knew…

"Luckily, we arrived earlier from our trip and were able to find them here. My son Emmett tried to catch the thief, but he escaped" Carlisle said. My dad remained silent, but the other officials approached us.

"Sir, we should search the area… maybe we can catch him" one of them said. Charlie nodded.

"Well, that's… different. I guess I should thank you. I never had thought you could be that strong" Charlie reluctantly said. Edward merely smiled politely at him. I could see that had required a lot of effort… he couldn't keep the façade much longer.

"I want to thank you, Charlie, for taking care of my son. Sorry for the inconveniences" Carlisle said, polite as always. This seemed to make Charlie react.

"Don't worry, Dr. Cullen, it was nothing. Bella is the one you should thank to, she did all the work" Charlie said, and I blushed again.

"We are really grateful to you" Esme said, smiling. I suppressed a laugh when I saw my dad was a little blushed, too.

"No problem, Ms. Cullen. Really" he said, "Well, right now I guess we need to take you to the hospital, Bells. You and Edward certainly need treatment. What about you, um, Emmett?" my dad asked, unsure... Edward's brother was really imposing to him. Emmett smiled at him.

"I'm fine, Charlie" he said. Of course, Emmett was having a lot of fun with my dad's reactions. At his side, Edward seemed unaware of what was happening. I was scared, was that normal?

"We'll also need you to testify, you know, at the police station" Charlie said with authority. Carlisle nodded.

"Of course, we can…" he started, but Alice's gasp, along with Emmett's frantic voice interrupted him.

"Dad! Edward, please, you're scaring me!" he screamed. I saw as in slow motion as Edward's body went limp again, while Emmett grabbed him.

"Edward!" Esme said, and ran towards him. I wanted to do the same, but Jasper made a quick gesture to stop me. Carlisle practically ignored Charlie's questioning and ran to my Edward. He looked at him with concern… obviously, he had seen something he didn't like at all.

Jasper stood in front of me, blocking my sight, which increased my fears. Was that on purpose, or by coincidence? I only saw as Carlisle took off his jacket and placed it over Edward. Alice returned to my side.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine" she said to me, and hugged me softly. I didn't believed her. Charlie approached me again.

"Come on, Bells. We need to go" he said to me.

"No! I want to stay!" I said to him. I didn't want to separate from Edward. Carlisle heard me –of course- and murmured something to Emmett and Esme, then he moved towards me.

"Don't worry, Bella. He'll be fine" he said to me, but I didn't believe him –again-.

"Are you sure? He really looks bad, maybe he should come with us too" Charlie said, concerned.

"It's alright. It'll be better for my son to rest in home. Esme will take care of him. He has a fever, that's all. He'll be fine" Carlisle said. He was obviously lying; vampires don't get fevers, right?

"But I…" I protested.

"Why don't we go with you? That way, after my dad treats your arm, we can go together to our house. You'll see Edward then" Alice said, looking at me. It seemed a good option. I looked at my dad to see what he thought of it, but I doubted he opposed. After all, he liked Alice too.

"Sound fine to me" he admitted. Carlisle then looked at Emmett and nodded. He lifted Edward from the ground and started to walk in a different direction, with Esme at his side. Carlisle then looked at me.

"Let's go, then" he said to Charlie. Alice gave Jasper a quick kiss, and we all left too.

**EPOV**

I could only feel pain. Each movement, each breath, brought with it a wave so strong I could barely think of something else.

I didn't even remember most of the conversation between my family and Charlie. I only managed to stay focused when he asked me something, but after that I didn't know. My sight was so blurred I couldn't see Bella clearly, but Esme had assured me she was fine.

I was vaguely aware of Emmett's arms surrounding me… he was probably carrying me through the forest. I could also hear Esme's soothing voice coming from one side.

"You'll be fine, Edward. Just a little longer" she said to me. I wanted to say to her I was fine, to erase the worry in her voice, but I doubted I could even speak without feeling the agony of my wounds… it hurt so much. Jasper's memories didn't made it justice, didn't express the right feeling of it. I wondered if I could just faint, after all; that way at least I wont feel pain anymore.

Suddenly, Emmett stopped. I reluctantly opened my eyes to look at him; he seemed afraid, but why would someone like him feel afraid?

"Hey, are you still with me, bro?" he asked, worried. I managed to raise my head to look at him, and smiled.

"Yes…" I answered softly. The movement sent another wave of agony through my body, my chest… why it hurt so much to talk?

"Good. Listen, I'm going to put you down, ok? I'll bring something for you" Emmett said. I nodded, praying my face didn't show the panic. Obviously, the moment he moved me I couldn't avoid moaning in pain.

"Sorry" he said, and placed me near a tree so I could lean on it. I saw his blurry figure move away, and then I felt Esme's hand on my face.

"My poor Edward… "she muttered while caressing my face.

"Mom…" I said to her… she was my mother, the best I could ask for. I felt another wave of pain, and moaned softly. Now that Bella wasn't here, I didn't care being too obvious about that. Esme cradled me in her arms, still caressing me.

"Shhh. Its ok, Edward. You'll feel better soon" she said. I heard footsteps and opened my eyes again. Emmett had returned.

"You think he can…?" he asked Esme. I can what?

"I doubt it… he's in so much pain…" I heard her say. I felt sorry for the sad tone in her voice. I never meant to make her suffer. Emmett approached.

"I brought something for you. Want me to help you?" Emmett asked. I finally smelled it; he had hunted a deer… a prey for me. Despite my weakened state, I felt the venom in my mouth… I was so hungry. Without waiting for an answer, Emmett moved the deer closer to me. Even my sight improved a little. I tried to bend down to it, but the pain stopped me; I growled in frustration.

"Slowly, Edward" Esme said. I obeyed her, careful not to move too much. When I started to feed, I felt so much better. I could feel as the smaller cuts started to heal, and felt relieved when the pain started to lessen, too. Finally, I was starting to heal. But something was strange… my chest hurt so much still; it should be healing by now… why? Suddenly, I felt pain again and, for the first time in my immortal life, all went black.

_**Another chapter ready!! I'm making them just a little bit longer, but I doubt you'll complain about that, right? ;)**_

_**I liked this chapter… good chance to show Esme's motherly side and Emmett's love for his adoptive brother :P. Don't worry, you'l**__**l see the rest of the Cullens in next chapter nn**_

_**You know? I've received many interesting ideas for future stories, but I'd like to make a "sequel" for this one…I'm still unsure, because it would probably involve Jacob (and my evil side is screaming for a duel Edward vs Jake lol) and would most probably end up being my own version of BD… what do you think? Do you have any ideas or opinions about that? I'd like to know… **_

_**Thanks for your comments! You're the best readers one can ask!!**_


	16. Concern

"Concern"

**BPOV**

I've never been so frantic in my whole life.

We were now at the hospital. Carlisle had looked at my X-ray and was now supervising my cast. Weird, I didn't remember the pain of it… all I could think of was Edward's absent gaze. Was he alright?

"Can you wait a moment here? I need to fill some papers" Carlisle said to me. I felt bad for him; now that my dad wasn't here, he didn't bother to hide his worry anymore. I understood… Edward was a son to him, he surely was worried. I remembered his face when he had looked at him, and my panic returned. He hadn't said anything, but I knew something was wrong.

"Yeah" I answered him. The moment he left, Alice and Jasper entered.

"How are you feeling, Bella?" Alice asked.

"That depends of what you see, Alice" I said. I wanted her to tell me something –anything- to assure me Edward was fine. She sighed.

"Sorry. I didn't focus on it… I've been distracted" she answered. That didn't convince me. Jasper gently put an arm around her shoulders.

"So, that means his future is not clear?" I asked. What does that mean? Alice nodded. Both sat down on the chairs near me. It was then that I noticed something… I felt terrible: worried, afraid… and Alice felt the same way, I could see that. Why wasn't Jasper acting?

"Jasper… are you alright?" I asked. It was weird, since he always used his gift to calm us. He looked at me and smiled softly.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just that… well, it's hard for me to see Edward like that" he answered. Of course, all the Cullens had been so shocked and worried to focus on their powers. Alice caressed Jasper's hand.

"It's ok, Jasper. We all are worried." She said.

"It's not that simple. You know my past was full of blood and war... it was hard to see one of my family like that; it brought back a memory, that's all." He said. I finally understood how hard this was for him. He had lived on a battlefield for many years, until he found Alice and the Cullens. He surely had felt really bad when he saw Edward injured; besides, I was sure the emotions surrounding him were doing no good to him.

"Sorry, Jasper. I should control my feelings" I said. He looked at me.

"You don't have to be sorry… if I can't control my own, how can I expect the others to do it?" he said. I was about to try and comfort them when the door opened again and my dad, along with Carlisle, entered the room.

"Oh, I didn't know you were here. How're you feeling, Bells?" Charlie asked.

"I'm fine, dad. It doesn't hurt anymore" I lied. Of course it hurt, but it was nothing compared to my emotional pain.

"I gave your father some medicament for you. If you take it according to my indications, you'll be fine" Carlisle said.

"Can we go now?" I asked, ignoring my dad's subtle grimace. I knew he wanted me at home, but I HAD to see Edward… he was far worse than I was.

"Bells, maybe you should wait to…" Charlie started, but I looked at him with such strength he sighed and stopped, resigned. Luckily, one of his officers appeared.

"Sir, we have some information. I think you should come to see" he said. Charlie seemed reluctant.

"Don't worry, Charlie. I'll take care of her. Jasper can take her home later" Carlisle said. This seemed to convince my dad –well, at least he seemed to agree with it-.

"Alright, then. See you soon, Bells. Don't be late" he said, and left.

Minutes later, I was in the car with Carlisle, Alice and Jasper. There was a silent environment, which increased my doubts: there was definitively something they were not telling me. But this time, I was resolved to get my answers.

"Umm… Carlisle? Can you please tell me what's happening? The truth?" I asked. I heard Alice sigh on the back seat. Carlisle remained silent. "Please?" I begged.

"Well… there are some problems with Edward's condition" Carlisle said, reluctant. I already knew that.

"It has something to do with what you saw at the forest?" I asked. The look on his face answered it. "What's wrong?" I asked again.

"Well, Bella. You know how essential blood is for us. We need it to live and to stay strong" Carlisle said. I knew that too. "Edward is badly wounded. What I saw… well, I better not describe it" he finished. That scared me, but at the same time forced me to get him describe it.

"Please, tell me how bad it is" I begged him. I felt tears in my eyes. He noticed it, and sighed.

"When he… collapsed on Emmett's arms, I had a clear view of his chest. It's bad… I even could see some of his ribs… but the problem is this: Jasper says the blood of animals won't be enough for him, he'll need to feed on humans in order to heal completely" Carlisle finally admitted. I saw the immediate problem there; none of them would feed on humans anymore… how could Edward do it? Especially after the hunter's story? I shuddered when I noticed my thoughts: I was willing to end a human life so that he could get better, but I couldn't feel guilty.

"And what if he doesn't do it?" I asked.

"Some of his wounds will remain" Jasper answered from behind.

I was still considering his words when we arrived at the Cullens' house. I forgot my cast and ran towards the door, and I was lucky to have Alice beside me when I –inevitably- tripped. The moment Carlisle entered the house, Esme launched herself into his arms.

"Esme? What…?" he asked.

"Edward is upstairs. Emmett placed him on the bed he brought for Bella. Please, go to see him. He… fainted" Esme said. I was shocked, can vampires actually faint? I felt Alice's cold hand with mine, caressing it.

"You better wait here for a moment, Bella" Emmett said. I was even more shocked to see him scared. Obviously the event had impressed him that much.

"No! I don't want to wait!" I said, frantically.

"It won't be long. Just give Carlisle some time to check him, right? Then you can see him" Alice said.

We sat on the couch, waiting. I was afraid… in all the time I knew them, I'd seen them as invincible, eternal, but now I was really worried. They could die, Victoria was proof enough of that, and the werewolves were the only known creature –beside them- that could actually kill them. What if the damage was too much? What if Edward…? No, that won't happen. If I had to give him my blood to make him survive, I'll do it with or without his consent to it.

_**This chapter changed so much from its original version… more angsty, I guess. The idea of a sequel is really REALLY appealing to me, but I don't know… argh! So tempting!! I guess I'll let you help me decide…**_

_**Don't worry, I told you before I'll never kill Edward –I love him so much to do it :P- but that doesn't mean he's entirely safe, right? Poor Jasper! It must be hard to feel all the angst of the others + your own… -hugs Jasper-**_

_**And yeah, Alice can't see a thing… because she's worried. You know that when you are like that sometimes you miss many things (in her case, she didn't pay much attention to any possible visions… wrooong) that was hard to get; I had to make suspense, but how can I do it with her seeing the future? So I decided she was too shocked and worried to see (hope it sounds coherent).**_

_**And yes, probably vampires can't faint… but if his mind works, why couldn't they just "disconnect" for a while? :P just an idea… don't blame me! My evil side couldn't resist! –evil side grins XD- **_

_**Oh, yes! I Since I've received quite a few comments, I?m definitively planning a sequel! So don't hope to know everything on this one –more evil grins XD-**_


	17. Consolation

"Consolation"

**BPOV**

The moment Carlisle appeared at the stairs, I went up. I don't even know how I could manage to do it without falling. In a second –figuratively- I was at his side.

"How is he?" I asked, while my mind was already racing with a lot of dreadful possibilities.

"He's better. I was about to talk to you; he wants to see you" Carlisle said. I couldn't suppress a sigh of exasperation; I wanted details and none of them seemed willing to share. Besides, I didn't like his words… to me, it had sounded like a dialogue from a movie, were the dying character calls everyone inside… Alright, I need to stop that thought.

Carlisle kept staring at me, apparently confused by my lack of reaction. I blushed; luckily he couldn't read minds.

"Thank you, Carlisle" I said.

I entered Edward's room, and my sight flew immediately to the giant bed he had bought for me a while ago. He was there, lying comfortably over it. I ran towards him.

"Edward!" I screamed with all my force. I practically launched myself into the bed, and into his arms. I started to cry while we hug; I couldn't help it, I felt so bad for him… why does he have to deal with this? He's so good and kind, how can he deserve this?

"It's ok, Bella. Sorry if I scared you" he said, his velvet voice firm.

"Don't do that. You have nothing to be sorry for. You saved my life" I said, my head buried in his chest. Wait… I shouldn't be doing that. I immediately moved a little away.

"Sorry! I forgot your chest!" I said, but I realized he had somewhat misunderstood the gesture, for his golden eyes were sad. "Something wrong?" I asked. I hated to see him like that.

"No… don't worry" he said, but even I could see that was a lie.

"You can tell me. Please?" I said. I knew he needed to talk about his thoughts, about what he had learned hours ago, in order to overcome that.

**EPOV**

For a moment, I felt scared… I thought she had changed her mind about me; after all, I had killed so many people in the past. How could someone as pure and gentle as Bella love me still?

But the tone of love in her voice remained. When she asked me to tell her what was wrong, I could hear she really cared for me… and she'd been right; much to my dismay, the wound in my chest hurt more than I wanted her to know. I wanted to tell her about my worries, but the problem was: where to start? She kept staring at me, waiting for my answer. I sighed; I really wanted to speak with her about this.

"It's just that… I can't stop thinking about Alphonse's friend. What if he was right? What if he could have changed? He's right, I don't have the right to decide if someone lives or dies… I'm really a monster, aren't I?" I said before realizing it. I never meant those last words to come out.

I couldn't refrain myself. I hugged her, burying my face in her shoulders, careful not to hurt her arm. Another thing to be sorry about… I had hurt her, while trying to protect her. What kind of creature was I? For the first time in my life as vampire, I missed tears. I wanted to cry, I knew I would be doing so if I were human. But that was the problem of it all, wasn't it? I wasn't.

"Edward…" Bella said, while I remained there, unable to say more. I felt a stab of pain in my wound, but I ignored it.

"I've killed so many people… what if they weren't that bad? I'm sure most of them had family, friends like the hunter who would miss them. I made those people suffer, those innocents…" I said. Now I really was speaking my mind; no secrets, no 'censorship'. Would Bella understand?

"Stop, Edward. You don't have to feel like that. You said it; he was a rapist, right? Think about the girl who died that day; how many died before you arrived? And how many you saved when you decided to attack him? I understand the weight of those human lives must be hard for someone like you… you have such a kind soul. But you have to understand that for each live you took, you saved more of them" she said with such confidence I had to raise my head to see her.

So kind, so warm. I felt grateful to her… she was not only accepting my past mistakes, but she was also trying to comfort me.

"You see me as a much better person than I really am" I said.

"No, I don't. It's just that you seem to be blind to your own virtues. You're a good man, Edward. You are the most kind, honest, good man I've ever met" she said, looking at me with those beautiful brown eyes of hers. I laughed softly, cursing mentally when it send pain to my chest.

"I'm a vampire" I said, hoping she would catch the little joke. She did.

"Oh! You know what I mean!" she said, smiling. "I swear, Edward, you need to raise your self esteem"

I felt so happy. I've never dreamed to find someone who loved me like that, to the point of forgiving my crimes… I even forgot the pain. Suddenly, I felt the desire to kiss her, to stay with her forever. I slowly pushed her towards the bed while I kissed her fiercely, more fiercely than I ever had allowed. She answered immediately, grabbing my head with her hands, but stopped abruptly.

"Your chest. Maybe we should…"

"Stop worrying about that. Right now I honestly don't care" I said, kissing her again. I was enjoying this; it felt so good to take my angst out of my chest, to talk to her. Unfortunately, the sound of Alice's footsteps stopped us. Funny, I haven't heard her come in… I had other things on my mind, with long hair and chocolate eyes.

"Yeesh, Edward! Sometimes I'd swear you're eating Bella!" she teased me. Bella and I both looked at her with annoyance. She had interrupted a perfect moment.

**BPOV**

I was cursing mentally.

How could Alice be so mean? She had interrupted one of the best kisses of all my life. Beside me, I could see Edward was as angry as I was.

"So?" Edward asked impatiently.

"You shouldn't be doing that, you know? You're still hurt" Alice said, smiling. Edward looked at her with angry eyes.

"Alright, alright. I just came to tell you Carlisle says you shouldn't be moving that much. Oh, and I just had a vision that can be a little… annoying to you" she said with a devilish grin. I wondered what had she seen. At my side, Edward made an exasperated gesture, but it didn't seem to be directed towards Alice. Again, I was missing something.

"I knew you wouldn't like it. But I'm gonna have a lot of fun with that… and I'm sure Emmett too" she said, and laughed.

"What?" I asked, but Alice was already out of sight. Edward sighed and lay down again.

"Edward… please tell me. I'm tired of being the ignorant here! First with the hunter, now this!" I said, angry. Edward laughed without humor.

"Well, Alice's vision is not really important, just annoying to me. Your dad is more perceptive than I thought" he mysteriously said. My dad? Why was he involved?

"In english, please"

"He saw my leg. Alice's vision shows me using crutches in front of him… I've never had to fake so much in my whole life" he said, a little exasperated. I couldn't help but laugh.

"And about the hunter… Seth and I were shocked because we found out he's Sam's father" he continued.

"Sam's dad?!" I said, shocked. Now I understood why he had looked so unsure. No wonder why he had attacked Edward. He sighed, and grimaced slightly.

"Edward…um… I spoke to Jasper and he said…" I started.

"I know what he said. I'm not taking your blood to heal" he said, serious.

"Why not? After all, you're going to change me… I want to help you!" I said. I couldn't stand to see him in pain.

"Because I want to do things right. And because, if I'm going to change you, it's going to be without any hurry or pressure to it. Animals are enough, it'll just take longer to heal" he said. I saw as he involuntarily placed a hand over his chest, probably to try and ease the pain. I placed myself closer to him and sighed; it was useless to argue right now. He needed to rest –as strange as that sounded for him- so I'll try again later.

"You know? I'd like to stay here all night" I said, and yawned when he placed his arms around me. I hadn't realized I was that tired.

"Well, you can if you wish" he said. I could feel him wince sometimes, and wondered how he really was… I'll try to convince him later. He started to hum my lullaby, and I felt asleep in his arms.

_**Awww**__**… I liked this one – Bella and Edward's sweet moments… interrupted by Alice nn- I had to put some little joke to relief all the angst :P –Don't feel bad, Edward! We love u!... besides, they were bad people!-**_

_**Poor Edward needs to start seeing himself as the perfect man –vampire?- he is lol Bella is so lucky! Next chapter will deal with Sam and Alphonse –shudders- hard one.**_

_**Thanks for your comments! And yes! I'm doing a sequel!! (I still don't know if it'll involve the Volturi or a new villain… or a mix of both… still choosing -.-)**_


	18. Regrets

"Regrets"

Sam approached the small house with fear. He felt somewhat humiliated by it; after all he had lived, how was it possible to be afraid of this?

He sighed; surely the man inside was as confused as he was. Or maybe not. After all, he had lived all this time without even checking on him. Sam felt the rage build inside him again… he really didn't want to talk to this man –he refused to think of him as his father- but he had to. He had to know at least his version of the past. With another sigh, he entered the house they had chosen to keep him locked.

He was there, lying on the small bed. Sam was surprised to find Emily there… he thought she had finished looking at his injuries. She raised her head to look at him, her scars visible. He would never forgive himself for that, no matter how much he loved her. She seemed to guess he wanted to be alone with the hunter, for she simply walked towards the door. Before leaving, she kissed him softly.

"Don't let this affect you" she said, and leaved.

Once they were alone, Sam sighed again. Where to begin?

"You don't have to be here if you don't want to. Don't feel obligated" the hunter, Alphonse, said with a plain tone. Sam looked at him with rage, how could he be so calm?

"I want some answers, and you're going to give them to me" Sam said, trying to sound as cold as Alphonse. The hunter smiled sadly.

"Yeah, I guess you'll need to know that someday" he said. Sam approached the bed and sat on chair near it.

"First of all, let me tell you I really hate you for all this. You not only risked our treaty, but you also attacked one of your own. Seth's still recovering" Sam said.

"Ha! He's not 'my own', I don't know him. It's his fault for helping the leech. And about the treaty, I don't give a damn; I left the reservation, so I'm no longer attached to it" Alphonse answered. Sam's anger rose… how could this man be his father?

"I guess I should have expected that. You seem to be quite irresponsible and immature" Sam said. Alphonse became serious.

"You don't know me, kid. You have no right to judge me!" he said, angry. That was it. Sam was really angry.

"I have no right, you say?! What about my mother? What about me? You left us here all alone! You didn't even care about her! You broke her heart and you don't even give it a thought! I have more right than anyone to judge you, _father_!!" Sam said the last word with a disgust tone. He hoped the hunter noticed it.

"I had my business… she knew I'll leave someday! It's her fault if she built false hopes!" Alphonse said.

"So what?! That justifies it? If you were going to leave, why didn't you stayed away from her? You don't even know how much damage you made… do you know how it is to live without a father? To know he left pursuing his own ambitions? To understand he didn't even love you?" Sam said. He had said it all without thinking, he really had said more than he wanted to. Alphonse looked at him, surprised.

"So, you've accepted I'm you father?" he asked. Sam couldn't interpret the look on his face.

"It's plain obvious you are, isn't it? Same last name… but right now, I wish you hadn't given me even that. I don't want anything to do with someone like you" Sam said.

"You seem to think I'm worse than you… but you've made your mistakes too, haven't you? What about that girl, Emily?" Alphonse asked.

"Don't even dare to talk about her!!" Sam roared. It was enough with his own guilt about that. The hunter laughed without humor.

"Well, then. Just place yourself in my place for a second… imagine a friend you love as a brother. Now, imagine a creature kills him or her in the most horrid way you can think of. What would YOU have done? Are you telling me you'd have forgotten all and continued your way?" Alphonse asked. Sam remained silent; as much as he wished to defy the hunter, he had to admit he would have pursued the vampire too… he'll surely feel the same rage and desire for revenge.

"I wouldn't have abandoned my family for that" Sam said.

"No… I'm sure you wouldn't" Alphonse said, using a strange tone. Pride? Regret? Sam was about to ask him about that, but he continued to talk.

"I loved you mother. Very much. You say I should have stayed away from her, but the fact is I couldn't. I've never met a woman like her" Alphonse said. Now it was Sam's turn to be shocked… he had thought it would be harder to extract that from him.

"Not so much, since you left her" Sam said.

"As I said, we all make mistakes" Alphonse answered.

"That's all she is to you? A mistake? How could you! Why don't you just admit you were obsessed with Edward and that was stronger than your love? You pretend to know it all, but you know nothing about her, nothing about us! We were just an obstacle for you, right? You got rid of us when you could… am I a mistake too?!" Sam asked, angry. Again, he had said more than he wanted; as a kid, he had always felt sad about it, he had always felt it was his fault his father left. Alphonse looked at him, but this time, his face was different.

"I didn't say that! I couldn't live peacefully here, knowing that monster was out there, knowing that Matt would never have the chance to live like that. I simply couldn't continue until I finished that revenge!" Alphonse said, more sincerely than Sam had expected.

"And what would you have done after killing Edward? Return with us? Pretend nothing had happened? You should have called us, at least! It would have made her happy to hear from you" Sam said. He still remembered his mother's sad gaze whenever she talked about his father… how could he have done that to her?

"I doubt she'll have accepted me" Alphonse said, sad. Sam was surprised; he seemed Alphonse had really loved her.

"Are you kidding? She would have accepted you with open arms. She never lost the hope" Sam said, a little annoyed. Wait, why did he say that? Alphonse merely sighed.

"Look, I know you don't like me, I don't expect you to. But I want you to know this: I loved your mother, I love her still… and you were never a mistake. The moment I knew you, I admired your maturity, your kindness… and then you showed such wisdom when dealing with the bloodsuckers… I admired you since the first moment I saw you. Then, when I knew who you were… you probably won't believe it, but I felt proud." Alphonse said with an effort, obviously reluctant to say it. Sam was… touched.

"I…" he said, but couldn't continue.

"Look, you don't have to say anything. You don't even have to see me as a father, because I'm not really that to you –well, except for the obvious-, but at least hope you'll let me see her grave. I'd like to say goodbye to her" Alphonse continued. Sam didn't know what to say… now that he had really talked to him, Alphonse didn't seem as heartless as he thought.

"Maybe… if you promise not to escape. I doubt Edward has that much control" Sam said.

"Who the hell is Edward?" Alphonse asked, obviously angry at the remark.

"The vampire you tried to kill… that's his name" Sam said.

"To me is just a vampire, he doesn't need name. They're all the same… killers, monsters." Alphonse said. Sam laughed sarcastically.

"At least we have something in common, Alphonse" Sam said. He realized until then that his voice was shaking.

"If I'm allowed to say it… I'm glad to meet you. You weren't a mistake, you are a good man. She'll be proud of you, I'm sure" Alphonse said. Sam had to get out, or he'll end up breaking in front of him. He turned to avoid showing Alphonse the weakness his face surely had right now.

"Maybe, someday… I will forgive you" Sam said, but he knew that he had already started to see facts from Alphonse's perspective… he was willing to understand, at least.

"I didn't ask for that. You are in all your right to hate me" Alphonse said. He seemed reluctant to show his feelings again.

"I know…" Sam said, and leaved the room.

_**Hard chapter!! Hope it sound alright… I guess Sam's really mature :P I wanted a stronger argument, but when I finished, I realized it's more…um… calm than I expected. At least the hunter admits leaving his family was a mistake (fool)**_

_**This chapter was really hard!! And I'm still not totally satisfied with it –sigh- hope at least it's decent enough to read… argh!! **_


	19. Peace

"Peace"

**BPOV**

This had been an incredibly long, weird week.

First of all, Esme had Edward practically on house arrest, so he went out only to hunt. He feed daily with the local prey –much to his dismay- to try and heal without the alternative given by Jasper. Since he couldn't go out of his house –which annoyed him greatly-, it was I who traveled each day to see him. Alice always came to pick me up at exactly the same hour…

"Alice hasn't arrived yet? That's strange" Charlie said from the couch.

I sighed. The second weirdest thing during this week was my dad's attitude. I expected him to be angry or at least irritated by my frequent visits to the Cullens' house; on the contrary, he seemed more comprehensive about it and even had offered to ride me there. Most important, he always sent his best wishes to Edward –since, to him, he had a "fracture"- and had expressed his wish to talk to him. Weird. I guessed that was related to Edward rescuing me… if I had known it would have this effect, I would have told him about all the times Edward had saved me.

"Yeah. I'm a little worried" I answered my dad. In fact, I was only anxious to see Edward… I knew Esme and Emmett had become his "bodyguards". I couldn't help but laugh at that; Edward seemed annoyed by the overprotective attitude, but I understood: we'd been close to loosing him, and he wasn't entirely healed after all –no matter how much he insisted he was fine-. Suddenly, someone called at the door. I rushed to it, expecting Alice, but I was shocked to see Edward there, waiting for me with that crooked smile I loved so much.

"Edward! What are you doing here? I thought Esme had chained you to the bed" I said, too happy to care. Just seeing him there made me fly with joy. He smiled even more.

"Honestly? I escaped my captors" he said.

"Edward? Is that you?" My dad asked. I turned to see him, frantic. He would get suspicious –obviously- if he saw him here without any sign of injury. When Charlie arrived to the door, I looked at Edward again… he was already leaning on a pair of crutches. Damn vampire speed.

"Good afternoon, Charlie. Hope you don't mind, but I came to get Bella" Edward said, polite as always.

"Please, come in. I'd like to speak to you… and I'm sure you'll like to rest a little" Charlie said, kinder than I ever dreamed.

"Thank you" Edward said, and entered the house.

I was frankly impressed. I had used crutches once, and they weren't as easy to use as it seemed; however, Edward moved with his natural grace and security, as if he wasn't using anything. Is there something Edward can't do perfectly?

Edward sat on the couch, and I immediately sat beside him. I had to suppress a giggle when I noticed he actually sat slowly, obviously trying to convince Charlie about his leg. My dad sat on another place, looking straight to him.

"So… how're you?" Charlie asked, polite again. Was this some kind of strategy?

"I'm better, Charlie. Thank you for asking" Edward answered. I noticed he said "better" instead of "fine", if only he wasn't that stubborn…

"Never mind. I'm glad to hear that. It must be difficult to walk with those, right?" Charlie said.

"More or less" Edward said. Yeah, right. As if he used them all day. My dad sighed; I recognized that as a sign of discomfort, and got more curious. What was he planning to say?

"Listen, Edward… I know I haven't been nice to you in all this time, but…" Charlie started. Was he really apologizing?

"Don't worry, Charlie. I understand… frankly, I think I deserved it" Edward said. I sighed at his side.

"Please, let me finish…the truth is now I am very grateful to you. Despite being sick, you protected Bella; she'll be in far worse shape if it wasn't for you" my dad continued. Worse shape? Oh, yeah… my arm. Funny, whenever I was with Edward I forgot I had the cast there.

"Please, Charlie. It's not necessary, really. I love Bella; I would have done anything in my power to protect her" Edward said sincerely. I blushed.

"I know you do… I just wanted to apologize for any offense I could have done to you. I guess I misjudged you, but you're a good person. This will always be your home" Charlie said. I felt so touched my eyes filled with tears. Even Edward seemed moved by the gesture.

"Thank you, Charlie. That means a lot" Edward said.

"Well, um, that's all. Unless you want me to give you a ride. Are you sure you can drive like that?" Charlie asked, looking at Edward's crutches.

"I'm fine. I drove all the way here" Edward answered. He stood up, and I pretended to help him with the crutches. Charlie eyed me intently.

"Be careful. And Bella, don't be late" he said to me.

"I won't dad." I said, and approached to kiss his cheek. "Thank you…" I murmured on his ear, but I was sure Edward listened.

"Whatever makes you happy, Bells" he answered.

Once we were both inside the Volvo, Edward sighed.

"As I said, I've never had to fake this much in my life" he said, annoyed. I laughed.

"Well, at least we don't have to fight with him anymore" I said. I felt grateful for that.

"Yeah…" he said, and kissed me softly. "Would you like to go to our meadow?" he asked between kisses. His mouth was now on my neck.

"Yes…" I said with shaky voice. He started the engine.

The meadow had been a good choice. It was not really a sunny day, but it was warm enough. Once again, I realized with awe that now I preferred cloudy days… because they meant Edward could be out with me. We were both lying on the grass, enjoying the wind and the soft perfume of the flowers. I looked at him; he had his eyes closed, but his expression was peaceful. I caressed his perfect face with my good hand, wondering –as many times- if he was real, if I was really that lucky. He opened his eyes.

"I love it when you do that. It feels nice" he said, while his hands took my face and pushed me closer to him. He kissed me like that time at his house, when Alice had interrupted. I felt immediately dizzy, filled with his fragrance and the softness of his lips pressing mine. Without stopping, I reached for the buttons of his shirt and slowly –with difficulty, since I had only one hand to do it- started to undo them. I thought he would stop me, but he didn't. At least not until I found the strange, scar-like wound on his chest.

"Bella…" he said, as if he was scolding me.

"I just wanted to see how bad it was" I said. He looked at me with his beautiful golden eyes.

"It's fine… don't start worrying" he said. I caressed the wound softly, trying to guess if it hurt. It was so strange… it was not an open wound like before –when Carlisle had seen that horrid image I refused to remember- but it was clearly not a scar either. It was marked in soft red all across his perfect chest… I imagined it like a strange spider, grabbing him fiercely. Suddenly, he put his hand over mine, which was still on his chest.

"Really, Bella. I'm better" he said. But I knew what he needed to be perfectly fine again. "No" he said, as if he could read my thoughts. I got a little angry.

"Why not? You promise me to change me… why not now? You won't have to wait. I'm ready, I want to help you" I said.

"Not yet. I told you, if I'm going to do it, I have some requirements" he said. "I won't change you under pressure. I'm fine" he said, serious. I sat.

"Why are you so stubborn? I'll force you if I have to" I said. I WILL force him if necessary. He smiled sarcastically.

"No offense, but how do you plan to do it?" he asked, angry.

"I'm sure Emmett or Esme will be more than willing to do it" I answered. I was sure they were as worried as I was, and they would surely help me to force him. He seemed to think the same, for he became serious again.

"Can we please stop it? I'm not going to do it now, period" he said. I sighed; it had been like this the entire week. I was starting to believe he was wining… well, I'll try later, with the rest of his family present. I was sure they would help me. I could see he was still angry, so I tried to distract him.

"So… you escaped? I'm sure Esme will be furious" I said. I already imagined her face when she noticed he was out. My attempt worked; he laughed loudly.

"Yeah… she'll be. Emmett and Jasper will suffer too; they helped me escape" Edward said. We both laughed. Now that he was calm again, I could make my point.

"Listen, Edward. I know this is difficult for you, but I really think it's the best option. I want you to get better. Now" I said, trying to sound calm. He hugged me tightly.

"I know, but… I'm not ready yet" he admitted. I couldn't argue with that. "Can't we just enjoy this moment without worries? I'm tired of being so responsible" he added. I sighed, pressing myself closer to him.

"Yes we can… before Esme kills my stubborn, beautiful vampire boyfriend" I said. We both laughed at that. I would insist later, until he accepts… but for now, the sensation of his arms surrounding me, the velvet sound of his laugh, was the best thing to have. For now, it was enough.

_**Final chapter! T-T I can't believe I did it! As I said, I'm going to do a sequel, so I left this quite undefined on purpose (hate me!!). You know Edward's **__**stubborn; you didn't expect him to give in so easily, right?shudders at certain ideas to write**_

_**And Charlie finally sees him with a better perspective, yay! So cute!**_

_**Hey, can you help me?… as you know, when someone reviews or favs a story, the author gets an alert on his/her mail, right? well, lately, I haven't received the alert on mine. It's kinda annoying, really, so I'd like to know if any of you had suffered the same problem… do you know how to solve it? Please help!**_

_**Thank you all for supporting my story all this time… you're the best readers!**_

_**See you soon –probably next week- on my next story! (if Esme doesn't kill Edward lol)**_

_**Tsuyu ryu**_


	20. Author's note again

_**Hi, there! I know, you haven't Heard from me in some time, but don't worry, you'll read another story son ;)**_

_**I decided to write this little note because I found out something when I reread Eclipse: Stephenie actually mentions the name of Sam's dad: Joshua Uley. Soo… I forgot that info and invented my own name (Alphonse), but now that I know it, I'm very fond of my name… so let's just fake (for my fic purposes) that the hunter has two names, right? Alphonse Joshua Uley… I know, it sounds weird, but I'm too fond of my name to eliminate it :P**_

_**Hope you're not too confused!**_

_**Tsuyu ryu**_


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